ORLANDO Pirates’ visit to Marumo Gallants this Saturday may not be a season-defining match for both clubs but it has potential to launch a period of depression for the Mangaung-based team.
The match will be played at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein at 5.45pm.
It will be a second match out for Marumo since they sacked head coach Dan Malesela along with the team’s technical director Molefi Ntseki.
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In the statement announcing the sacking of both technical figures on Friday afternoon, Gallants boldly stated that it was due to their failure to improve the team’s position in the log standings.
Malesela, who is proving to be the most nomadic coach in the Premier Soccer League era, left the team at 14th place on the log after 17 games.
He is also leaving them in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Nedbank Cup, where they are drawn against the National First Division outfit from KwaZulu-Natal, Durban City.
The weird part is that Malesela’s assistant coaches Duncan Lechesa and Sundra Govinder were left to lead the club in the interim. Gallants are currently waiting on the new coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, the Moroccan who played for Fulham.
Reports are that Ouaddou’s appointment was completed whilst Malesela was still at the club.
It is always strange when teams fire the coach but then leave his assistant (s) in charge as those people are expected to share the same coaching philosophy.
Gallants though, are just continuing their scandalous behaviour. They are the same team that hired and fired the coach Dylan Kerr before he could sit on the bench for his first match in charge.
By firing Malesela, Gallants may have missed two crucial opportunities that could prove detrimental to their campaign.
Players had since shown signs of buying into Malesela’s style of football as it was endearing them and the team to the greater Bloemfontein fanbase.
Even though it will be interesting to see what style of football will be coming with Ouaddou, who also holds a French citizenship, for this weekend you can expect the Free State Stadium to be packed with Pirates supporters as opposed to those passionate Siwelele fans.
The second missed opportunity will be that of the Nedbank Cup. For a small club that needs all the inspiration it can get, Malesela was almost perfect for taking them all the way in the Nedbank Cup.
The former Mamelodi Sundowns and Pirates defender still enjoys the respect of winning the Nedbank Cup with a First Division side, TS Galaxy.
To make matters more interesting, he beat Kaizer Chiefs on that fateful day - a record that will always be inspiring for any player.
Pirates will be looking to stay close to Sundowns as much as possible in the log standings. They have a nine points’ gap to chase down. So, Gallants may just get what’s coming to them.