Captain courageous Benson Mhlongo scored the magical 64th minute goal which gave Orlando Pirates a deserved 1-0 Premier League victory in what was termed "The Original Soweto Derby" at the refurbished Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday night.

Mhlongo timed a volley from outside the penalty area with the precision of a Tiger Woods' bunker shot and gave Greg Etafia in the Swallows' goal no chance as the ball curled into the top corner of the net for one of the memorable goals of the season initiated by a perfect Teko Modise cross.

And what a difference 15 minutes can make might have been the theme among The Buccaneers' supporters in a near-capacity 15 000 crowd as Pirates looked a different team after the interval and dominated the second period after being somewhat fortunate not to be a goal down at half-time.

The three points in the process consolidated Pirates' position as early pacesetters in the PSL championship race and gave coach Ruud Krol much to be satisfied with - particularly in the manner in which his team pulled themselves together after a curate's egg start to the proceedings.

In stark contrast, Swallows shed all their drive and verve in the second period and seemed to become more and more ineffective the longer the match lasted.

It was a bitter disappointment for The Birds who have now secured a meagre one point from their opening three league matches, with their fade-out materialising after only breathtaking saves from Moeneeb Josephs in Pirates goal had prevented Siyabonga Nomvethe and Lungisani Ndlela scoring what seemed certain goals in the opening half.

Swallows were materially affected by the injury and consequent replacement of Fabian McCarthy, but the replacement of the tricky Nomvethe by coach Rainer Zobel was more than a little mystifying, with Ndlela, in particular, off-key during the second-half fade-out and an obvious replacement candidate.

It was a game of high-class, impeccable goalkeeping in which both Josephs and Etafia performed with great aplomb throughout, with Swallows' dismal second-half display tarnishing to some extent what had been an exciting and entertaining opening 45 minutes.

And apart from Mhlongo's moment of magic, the dominant revival of Modise in the second half was also greatly material in turning the tide in favour of Pirates.