Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine is continuing to build an impressive legacy at the Soweto giants, having transformed himself from a third-choice signing into one of the club’s most important players.
When Chaine arrived at Pirates from Chippa United in September 2022, he was not expected to immediately become the club’s first-choice goalkeeper. Richard Ofori was the preferred option, while Siyabonga Mpontshane provided further competition.
However, Chaine gradually worked his way up the pecking order. Since making his debut for the Buccaneers in 2022, he has established himself as the team’s number one and become a key figure in their success.
The goalkeeper has already collected eight trophies with Pirates — five during Jose Riveiro’s tenure and three under current coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.
Now, Chaine is adding another major achievement to his growing list of accomplishments.
Chaine breaks Williams Okpara’s clean-sheet record
According to OptaJabu, Chaine has recorded an outstanding 26 clean sheets since the beginning of 2026, the highest tally achieved by an Orlando Pirates goalkeeper in the PSL era over the same period.
His 26th clean sheet came during Pirates’ convincing 3-0 victory over Milford FC in the Carling Knockout Cup on Tuesday.
That achievement saw him move past former Pirates goalkeeper Williams Okpara, who registered 25 clean sheets in 1999.
Chaine had come close to surpassing Okpara’s previous benchmark in 2025, finishing that year with 24 clean sheets. However, he has now gone one better and set a new milestone.
The goalkeeper had already overtaken Okpara’s 16 clean sheets from 1998, recording 17 in 2024.
Pirates goalkeeping greats set the benchmark
Okpara enjoyed an outstanding spell between the posts for the Buccaneers, recording 19 clean sheets in 1997, 16 in 1998 and 25 in 1999.
Other Orlando Pirates goalkeeping icons also left their mark. Moeneeb Josephs recorded 20 clean sheets across all competitions in 2009, while the late Senzo Meyiwa managed 18 in 2013.
Chaine’s latest achievement places him in distinguished company and underlines his growing importance to the club.
Having arrived as a relatively low-profile signing, he has developed into a trophy-winning goalkeeper and a record-breaker for the Buccaneers.
The big question now is whether another Pirates goalkeeper will eventually challenge his remarkable clean-sheet numbers — or whether Chaine is only getting started.
