Durban - Orlando Pirates scored a goal in each half as they beat Royal AM 2-1 on Saturday evening and qualified for the semi-finals of the MTN8.
The Buccaneers set the tone from the onset as they harassed and pressed the home side into numerous mistakes at the back with one of them paying off straight away as Vincent Pule gave the visitors the lead inside three minutes.
Following their goal, Pirates continued to push on in search of a second but with relative caution as Thwihli Thwahla looked dangerous on transition.
Pirates Head Coach Jose Riveiro praised his side for their top level game management that deprived the hosts of clear cut goal scoring opportunities.
"Ja, well again, extremely happy with the result but more than that, extremely happy with the performance today," Riveiro told SuperSport.
"I think we did it very well in different phases, the game has different moments, both teams with different approaches. We got an advantage very soon which is very important in these types of games.
"Because the opponent needs to immediately react and play more open. It was a pity that we could not finalise the game before, with some transitions we had in the first-half and some mistakes we provoked in the pressing."
Royal AM fired back quickly after going two goals down as Richard Ofori's parry set up Shaune Mogaila to tap in from close range but Riveiro believed it was an avoidable goal but complimented his side's resilience in the midst of a gruelling schedule.
"But we did not suffer so much, we conceded one goal we could have avoided in the second action but the way these guys are fighting every three days is something to put really in value. We are very proud of them."