Orlando Pirates midfielder Thabang Monare has praised his side’s ‘hard work and exceptional teamwork’ to grind out a positive result against Maritzburg United this past weekend.

The Buccaneers returned to winning ways after snatching a 1-0 victory over the Team of Choice at the Harry Gwala Stadium through a goal from Deon Hotto.

The win took Pirates up to the fourth place in the DStv Premiership standings – three points behind third-placed SuperSport United, while the Team of Choice remained 14th on the log.

Monare believes his side are on the ‘right path’ after they recovered from dropping points in their previous two league matches.

‘Credit to the boys, we worked as a team. We do have those games where it gets ugly and if it gets ugly we match it,’ Monare told Pirates’ media.

‘I feel like we are on the right path and once again credit to the boys for the hard work that we put in and exceptional teamwork. I don’t really have much words to say about the hard work we put in, but it was just brilliant.

‘It was very important [to win] especially after dropping two points [against Arrows] at home. Sometimes I honestly feel like we do need the luck.

‘Obviously, luck comes with hard work. Work for your luck; the harder you work, the luckier you become.

‘So, I think in our previous games we just didn’t have a little bit of luck. I feel we created more chances than Golden Arrows, but today we got a chance and we buried it and we got three points and are now going back home,’ he concluded.