Orlando Pirates secured their place in the next round of the Carling Knockout in convincing fashion, powering past Milford with a 3-0 scoreline at Orlando Amstel Arena on Tuesday night.

Marching past the Round of 16, the defending champions threw their name in among the last eight of the competition with a result that kept them unbeaten in Soweto this season. It was yet another home clean sheet for the Buccaneers, who kept the opposition from scoring for the third time in as many consecutive games at home.

They first had to survive a scrappy start to the contest as neither side managed to find rhythm early on. There was just one clear opportunity for both sides in the opening 10 minutes, coming from the boot of Tshepang Moremi who dragged his effort wide from outside the box.

However, the opener was not very far off and it arrived with just 15 minutes played as Moremi released Thapelo Mokobodi who made no mistake in finishing past goalkeeper Siphamandla Hleza to make it 1-0.

The shot stopper was equal to the task as Thalente Mbatha and Evidence Makgopa looked to double the home side’s lead. He would have no answer for the next attempt at his goal when Moremi got behind the defence and showed a clean pair of heels before finishing from a tight angle in the 34th minute.

With a goal and an assist to his name already, the winger capped off a fine first-half performance with another excellent finish when he got on the end of a defence-splitting pass from Mpho Padime and rounded Hleza to complete his brace on the stroke of halftime.

Despite their comfortable advantage, Pirates did not cease their efforts to further extend their lead. They made frequent surges into the Milford penalty area but struggled to make the most of their chances.

Padime had two quick opportunities to add his name to the scoresheet, but went wide with his first attempt before unleashing a long-range effort which was deflected out for a corner.

A rare shot at the other end saw Bucs keeper Sipho Chaine called on to make a relatively easy save to deny Vusumuzi Mthabela around the hour mark.

It was the Buccaneers who remained on the ascendancy, coming close to adding a fourth through Mokobodi who directed his effort wide. Second-half sub Camren Dansin placed his shot on target soon after, but could not find a way past Hleza who later pulled off another save to deny Boitumelo Radiopane from close range.

That kept the theme of a frustrating second period, but Pirates had done more than enough in the first to ensure safe passage to the quarter-finals.

Pirates XI: Chaine, Seema, Zulu, Sigomoshe (Mthiyane 64’), Hotto, Selepe, Mbatha (Dansin 64’), Mokobodi, Lungu (Padime 38’), Moremi (Nkota 64’), Makgopa (Radiopane 64’).