Interesting Chiefs, Pirates teams chosen
Soccer writers Mohau Ramashidja and Minhle Mkhize run the rule over Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates ahead of tomorrow’s Carling Black Label Champion Cup encounter.
KAIZER CHIEFS THE AMAKHOSI faithful have spoken, and they reckon that Gustavo Paez is ready to start matches, something that coach Steve Komphela was not keen on doing last season.
The Venezuelan striker joined Chiefs in the middle of the last season, and was mainly used as an impact player.
But Paez delivered immediately, scoring five goals in 18 appearances in all competitions, to announce that he was ready to be the team’s frontman.
His fans saw that, and in tomorrow’s Carling Black Label Champion Cup at FNB Stadium (3.30pm kickoff), the 27-year old will hope to reward his supporters with a goal or two, as Amakhosi target a third win in this friendly.
And though Ryan Moon did wonders by scoring on debut in Bafana Bafana’s first leg 2018 African Nations Championship qualifier against Botswana a few weeks ago, the 20-year-old centre-forward is not yet ready to be in Chiefs’ starting lineup, as he only managed to score a single goal out of the six matches he featured in for the Glamour Boys last season.
Another wise call made by Chiefs’ supporters was that they opted to go with the tried and tested in George Lebese as a suitable replacement for the injured Siphiwe Tshabalala on the left wing.
Lebese, who only started in 16 matches out of the 25 he featured in last season, will do well to use this encounter as an opportunity to convince Komphela that he is ready to start and play more games for him, in what could be the 50-year old’s third and final season at the club.
Khune, who will be in goal, will hope the combination of Lorenzo Gordinho, Eric Mathoho, Ramahlwe Mphahlele and Tsepo Masilela, will be switched on throughout the match to avoid last-minute errors which saw them fall short of challenging for the PSL title last season.
Kaizer Chiefs Starting XI: Khune, Mphahlele, Mathoho, Gordinho, Masilela, Ekstein, Katsande, Maluleka, Lebese, Parker, Paez ORLANDO PIRATES Buccaneer supporters left me astonished after they were given an opportunity to select their best eleven.
Pirates fans didn’t select one of their shinning stars from last season in Abbubaker Mobara.
Mobara made his presence felt at the heart of Pirates’ defence. One of Pirates’ major problems last season was conceding an astonishing 40 goals.
I thought Mobara was going to be one of the first names in Pirates starting XI tomorrow, but the fans decided otherwise.
Mobara gave Pirates the steal, composure and calmness at the back. The lad from Cape Town lacked a good partner and I think Justice Chabalala who is back on loan from Chippa United will form a solid partnership with Mobara.
Having said that, I believe Ayanda Gcaba and Happy Jele deserve an opportunity to show us what do they have in store for the Buccaners. The duo know that they owe it to their fans tomorrow.
Patrick Phungwayo is a player with a lot of potential, but injuries have hampered his progress over the years. This is another chance for him to stamp his authority at leftback. Marc van Heerden and young Thabo Maele are waiting to pounce should he blow this opportunity.
Thabo Matlaba is one player who will always give you more than 100%. Even when the chips are down, his telling contributions never go unnoticed.
Can this Pirates back four contain the likes of Gustavo Paez, George Lebese and Bernard Parker?
Paez ended the season in good goal-scoring form, while Parker and Lebese were blowing hot and cold last season.
One thing though that we don’t want to witness tomorrow, are penalties. We want goals. Issa Sarr will be protecting Pirates’ back four in the heart of midfield. Sarr’s work-rate is immaculate, but his passing game is average. Thamsanqa Sangweni only recently joined Pirates, so I assume that’s the reason why he didn’t make it into the starting XI. Oupa Manyisa looked a different player under Kjell Jonevret towards the end of the season.
All eyes will be on him marshalling the midfield for Pirates. Thamsanqa Gabuza and Tendia Ndoro have another chance to prove that they can bang in the goals.
This Pirates team chosen by the supporters doesnt convince me. I would love to see Manyisa pulling the strings together with Musa Nyatama and Sangweni in midfield, with Thabo Rakhale and Riyaad Norodien on the wings.
But let’s just wait and see what this team has in store for us.