Pirates star’s chance to shine
SIGNED with little fanfare, striker Lennox Bacela has a chance to become an Orlando Pirates cult hero if he shines in the MTN8 final against Platinum Stars tomorrow night.
SIGNED with little fanfare but amid much incredulity in the off-season, striker Lennox Bacela has a chance to become an Orlando Pirates cult hero if he shines in the MTN8 final against Platinum Stars at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban tomorrow night.
He returns to the stadium almost 10 months after helping former club Bloemfontein Celtic to last year’s Telkom Knockout trophy and is presented with an opportunity to endear himself to the Buccaneers for life.
After relinquishing all their trophies in a barren campaign last season, Pirates are on a quest to reclaim their lost rubies, starting with the R8m MTN8 loot.
Collins Mbesuma was the automatic choice to lead the Pirates line when Bacela arrived but the injuryprone Zambian soon made way when it became clear Bacela could rise to the big occasion.
His double against SuperSport United, which helped Pirates progress on penalties, was only bettered by his calm, near arrogant, penalty that ousted hot rivals Kaizer Chiefs on Tuesday.
Pirates fans went from distrusting his abilities to booing him but, when he started slotting goals in, he became the striker they now lean on the most for goals.
“Bacela was a Pirates boy, even during the time he was at Celtic. He grew up supporting Pirates and idolised Albert ‘Bashin’ Mahlangu, hailing him as the best striker he saw growing up,” Pirates assistant coach Teboho Moloi said.
“Bacela knows what is expected of him. He relies on other players to create for him but, much like his idol Bashin, he can come up with something out of nothing.
“He has to graft on Saturday and take each chance that comes his way but he’s got no weight of pressure hanging on his shoulders.”
Moloi said Bacela’s synergy with fellow Pirates freshman Kermit Erasmus up front would be critical to unlocking Platinum Stars, who have one of the most thrifty defences in the league.
“Erasmus and Bacela have to gel and understand each other in terms of determining who gets to drop deep or when do they both get to stay up in attack,” Moloi said.
“If you look at the first goal Bacela scored against SuperSport, Erasmus did all the hard work but Bacela was perfectly placed to finish things off.
“With Erasmus not being registered for the Caf Champions League, it will take a couple more games for them to gel at a supreme level and for them to have perfect understanding. But in the cup final they need to rise to the occasion and play to their level best,” he said.
Stars come into the clash with anaemic cup final pedigree, having only won the Telkom Knockout title in 2006 and this being their first appearance in the MTN8 final since their top-flight promotion in 2003.
But they arrive in Durban after a goal-scoring feast in their 6-3 aggregate semifinal win over Bidvest Wits and a 3-0 demolition of Free State Stars in the previous round.
They are not a team to be looked down on.
Former coach Cavin Johnson, who led them to second place in the Premier League last year, left solid systems in place.
Dikwena’s game plan relies almost completely on capitalising on their opponents’ mistakes and Siphelele Mthembu, Mogakolodi Ngele and Robert Ng’ambi have been programmed to put away those chances should Pirates slip up.