Johannesburg — Orlando Pirates’ co-coach Mandla Ncikazi says their win over AmaZulu in the Nedbank Cup last 32 on Sunday will serve as a huge morale booster in their pursuit to do well in all the remaining competitions in the final stretch of the season.
After a long-hiatus, amid the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), the domestic season returned last week via the Nedbank Cup, where the Bucs defeated Usuthu 1-0 in the main attraction of the week to progress to the last 16.
The Buccaneers' goal was scored by Deon Hotto in the 53rd minute. But this win was also important as it laid bare Pirates’ ambition of winning week in and week out in the second half of the season – where three trophies are still up for grabs.
But despite the league being a marathon, Ncikazi admitted that the title is out of reach for the second-placed Pirates who trail leaders Mamelodi Sundowns by 14 points. Pirates were their worst enemy late last year, dropping valuable points.
Not all is lost though. They’ll have to look for redemption via the Nedbank Cup and CAF Confederation Cup where they’ll open their group stage campaign against Algerian-based side JS Saoura at home, Orlando Stadium, late on Sunday.
“It was a real and good test. We played AmaZulu in our last match before the break and we played them now. It’s not always easy. (But) playing a team in the same league, you have an idea of where you stand,” Ncikazi after the win over Usuthu.
“You have an idea of where you stand in terms of fitness and where you want to go. There are only positives from the match. You probably wouldn’t read much if you were playing a team from the ABC Motsepe League (which is a lower division).
“We want to build from this. There’s a tougher fixture that’s ahead of us in CAF. We have to also prepare for the league match against (Golden) Arrows. It gave us a measure of where we are standing but there’s still work to be done.”
However, there was controversy surrounding the Bucs’ match-day squad against Usuthu. Despite having an impressive outing in the Africa Cup of Nations, where he scored three goals, Gabadinho Mhango was left out of the team.
Ncikazi made a bold remark to his defence, saying: “The league in South Africa is bigger than Afcon”. A feat that meant that just because Mhango was the standout player for Malawi doesn’t mean he’ll just walk into the starting Xl at Pirates.
But the other positive news for Pirates was the gradual return of Thembinkosi Lorch to full-fitness after another decent outing upfront. Lorch was on the side-lines for the better part of the first half of the campaign following a long-term injury.
“Lorch is a top player. When I arrived here, he was injured. But you can see that he’s developing and getting better with every passing game. He’s a game decider. Players have confidence when we play around him at times,” Ncikazi said.
“You can also see his decisions (have improved). In the previous game that we played against AmaZulu, he had two assists. That’s Lorch for you. We are looking for a lot of things to happen around him. He’s a top player and history backs him.”
IOL Sport