Starting the match like a house on fire, Pirates dominated the first half of the encounter with numerous chances being created but lack of composure in front of goal let the home team down.

As the teams were heading into halftime, Pirates only managed one attempt on target of their six shots at goal while Royal AM had no attempts at all.

Jose Riveiro's halftime team talk seemed to have motivated the Buccaneers as immediately after halftime, Bandile Shandu found himself in Royal AM's penalty box however, his shot was saved by Thwihli Thwahla's goalkeeper Mondli Mpoto.

Pirates would eventually break the deadlock through an own goal by Elias Pelembe in the 54th minute from Relebohile Ratomo's ambitious shot outside of the penalty box.

The 17 year-old Ratomo from the Pirates' DSTV Diski Challenge side made his senior debut with a lot of pressure on his shoulders being in the starting XI ahead of Monnapule Saleng however, he had an outstanding performance contributing to a lot of Pirates' attacking moves in the encounter.

With the match becoming more open as the second half progressed, Royal AM started to threaten the Buccaneers' defense and Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine came to Pirates' rescue on two occasions making stunning saves from Sedwyn George and Mfundo Thikazi.

However, Royal's persistence paid off as they found an equaliser in stoppage time through Pirates' former player Menzi Masuku after coming on as a substitute.

The result means Pirates hold a two-point advantage over third-placed SuperSport United with just two rounds of the season remaining, while Thwihli Thwahla rise to eighth place on the log.

Pirates will now turn their attention to the Nedbank Cup semi-finals on Saturday against their arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium.