Sekhukhune United coach Kaitano Tembo dedicated Tuesday's 2-0 victory over Orlando Pirates to the club's bosses, commending them for being patient with him.

Before beating Pirates, Sekhukhune had gone six league games without a win with three losses and three draws. Tembo was undoubtedly skating on thin ice, meaning the win over the Buccaneers has taken pressure off his shoulders. Elias Mokwana and Vusumuzi Mncube scored the goals that sealed the deal for Babina Noko at Peter Mokaba Stadium, where Pirates' Thabiso Monyane was red-carded two minutes before the hour-mark.

"I dedicate this win to the management of the club because they have been supporting me. The belief they have been showing me is amazing, that kept me going. They could see what I was trying to do. This is only the beginning,'' Tembo said.

The Sekhukhune trainer felt the difference between them and Pirates was that they were more desperate on the day. "I think we wanted it more... the players worked very hard for it. We created chances the same way we had been creating in our previous games but today we wanted it more and we showed that by converting those chances,'' Tembo noted.

"We were lethal and our pressing was very good. We never really gave them time and space on the ball, especially in the first half. When they went one man down in the second half, we were patient and we kept on doing the right things. We didn't panic at all, that really showed that we wanted to win this game."

The former SuperSport United coach also reserved a special praise for Mokwana, who joined the side from second-tier side Platinum City Rovers in the off-season. "Mokwana is the youngest player in the team. He's 22. His work ethic is amazing and he's so quick... in 1v1 situations he's very good. Today he did a brilliant job.''