Make Your P int

SOWETO DERBY – DELIGHT & DESPAIR The Soweto Derby’s aftermath effects are not easy to confront, more especially when the team one supports comes out second best. Kaizer Chiefs’ misery was compounded by the technical team that seems to struggle coaching our boys. Giovanni Solinas and Patrick Mabedi are a liability to Kaizer Chiefs. The two were somewhat watching a different game on the day. Siphelele ‘Stash’ Ntshangase was conspicuous with his ‘absence’, so to speak. The substitutions made simply made a mockery of the ticking time bomb that was there for all to see. Had it not been for the pathetic showing of Justin Shonga in front of goal, Chiefs could have easily been annihilated in a similar fashion Real Madrid got obliterated at the hands of a Messi-less Barcelona. Owen Mafukele-Valoyi, Nkuri-Tomu The Soweto Derby lived up to expectations. Both teams didn’t disappoint on the day. Firstly, let me commend both sets of supporters for arriving early for this gallant game. I never heard of any incident and the game started on time. Kaizer Chiefs started well by putting pressure and dominating Orlando Pirates in the middle of the park. I was not surprised when Khama Billiat put Chiefs ahead after a blunder from Siyabonga Mpontshane, who looked overwhelmed for a moment. Both coaches need to be commended for playing offensive football. Once Pirates settled into it, Godfrey Walusimbi and Siyabonga Ngezana were in for a tough outing against Abbubaker Mobara and Justin Shonga. Vincent Pule and Augustine Mulenga did not put a foot wrong, outplaying Ramahlwe Mphahlele and Co. going forward. Chiefs need to play as a team and stop relying heavily on the former Mamelodi Sundowns CAF Champions League-winning duo of Khama Billiat and Leonardo Castro. Lastly, let me highlight my happiness towards my team Mamelodi Sundowns. They are slowly finding their feet and climbing the table. Coach Pitso Mosimane once said that he wants to make Gaston Sirino Player of the Season. And oh, are we seeing the rebirth of Andile Jali? Aphane JM Libangeni, Vaalbank, KwaNdebele Whoever thought that the Soweto Derby has lost its spark must be eating humble pie right now. What a spectacle on Saturday! Two of the biggest SA soccer bulls in one kraal, full capacity FNB Stadium, end-toend stuff, scintillating performance. We couldn’t have asked for more from the two Soweto giants. Orlando Pirates brought their A-game, while Kaizer Chiefs had few answers. Chiefs players looked sluggish and didn’t offer much after taking the lead in the first half. The Pirates goalkeeper was hardly troubled throughout the match. Congratulations to the Pirates technical team and their players for executing well their game plan. You can clearly see that they studied Chiefs’ weaknesses and made sure that they fully capitalised on them. Well done to the Happy People. Makhado Nemalili, via email Credit must be given to Amabhakaniya for their incredible performance over the weekend. Orlando Pirates players were everywhere on the field, hence they managed to scored two goals. Mr Bobby Motaung needs to deduct 40% from each defender’s salary who played last weekend for their poor defensive display. I hope that in the next game they are going to make us happy. The race for the title is on… Isaac Tsenene, Port Elizabeth I watched the Soweto Derby on Saturday and I must agree that there was very good football displayed by both sets of players. I mean, it was entertaining with goals, a full house and good weather. The only difference between the two teams was quality. You can see that Kaizer Chiefs depend too much on Khama Billiat and Leonardo Castro, whereas Orlando Pirates were covered in all departments. Everybody was talking about Vincent Pule and guess who stole the show in the front line? None other than Augustine Mulenga. In midfield, they tried to neutralise Xola Mlambo by making sure that Willard Katsande marked him out of the game, but they didn’t expect Ben Motshwari to come to the party. I was happy for the boys, especially Abbubaker Mobara. I thought coach Micho was making a mistake by playing him, but Mobara was solid and also good going forward, though his crossing needs some polishing. Happy People ‘til we beat them again! Mantu Zakhe, Cape Town The more things seem to change for the better, the more they remain the same in the south of Johannesburg, at Naturena to be precise. Our excruciating defeat against sworn nemesis Orlando Pirates confirmed the persistent maladies, which had besieged our beloved club since Steve Komphela’s tenure, that of being another ordinary team. Amakhosi’s cup pedigree is under serious threat in this current juncture and teams such as Mamelodi Sundowns poses a great challenge to our records, cognisant of our beloved team’s perpetual downward spiral. The derby was very exciting on, especially Orlando Pirates firing on all cylinders, which further exposed Amakhosi’s defensive frailties, our Achilles heel. Finally, Siphelele Ntshangase must up his game as he’s often more casual than a couple walking along the beach at sunset. Loward Ziga-Khosa, Nkuri-Tomu, Giyani I’m still trying to recover from the shock of losing to our rivals Orlando Pirates on Saturday afternoon. Though my heart is broken, I just thought it would only be fair for me to congratulate them for that achievement and that’s because I always like to give credit where it is due, as previous Make Your Point musings would attest. I hope every Kaizer Chiefs fan would do the same, if only to lighten the pain of loss. I love my team and I always remain positive even if we lose because that’s part of the game. What I like more about Chiefs is that everyone becomes happy whenever we lose a game and that’s a very clear sign that we are a good team, so let’s just keep our hopes up high. Our defence was leaky and I think that’s one of the reasons why we lost. On the other hand, I think we lost it when Khama Billiat was substituted. Regardless of how underperforming he was, a player of Billiat’s calibre should not be substituted because he could have done something later in the game. I hope our coach will learn from such mistakes. Letladi wa Ga-Mphahlele, Maralaleng

EPISTLES TO MR SOLINAS… Dear Giovanni Solinas, you have just gone from digging your own grave with a teaspoon to digging it with an excavator and I am going to tell you why - one trophy is gone already, your league form blows hot and cold and now you have just lost to Orlando Pirates. Would you kindly explain to me or maybe the whole Khosi Nation how is it that you saw fit to play Mario Booysen ahead of Erick ‘Tower’ Mathoho who has international, AFCON and derby experience and has won trophies before? It’s an insult to Stuart Baxter and Shakes Mashaba, who have played him at the highest level. The tall and supposedly “experienced” Booysen failed to deal with Innocent Maela’s header that led to Pirates’ equaliser and made a baby kick clearance that resulted into a second goal. You bowed to Khama Billiat and likened him to Lionel Messi not long ago, yet you took him off in a derby. You don’t substitute your Messi! Yours sincerely… Lucky Khunou, Meriting Attention, Mr Giovanni Solinas: Thank you so much for making yourself available for the hottest coaching seat in the football fraternity of the African continent, that of being Kaizer Chiefs head coach. Dearest Gio, let me make it clear to you that we don’t take losing to Orlando Pirates with a pinch of salt, come rain or sunshine. “Unacceptable” is the word. Let me give you a frank warning and free brotherly advice: don’t lose to Mamelodi Sundowns, not especially to Pirates, if you still want to keep that seat. Coach Solinas, tell me, why on earth did you remove goalkeeper Virgil Vries from the starting line-up after he did so well in the Telkom Knockout? Don’t you think it’s about time you put your faith in him as Chiefs’ goalkeeper and not deputy to Itumeleng Khune? Never again should you fall victim to the error of judgment of taking out Khama Billiat in a Soweto Derby, especially when you are losing, for he is the only one prepared to score against Pirates. Your mistakes cost us the MTN8 and the derby. Please don’t be naive next time around. We don’t want another Steve Komphela, not in Italian clothing, even for a man well known for his snazzy dressing. Give us the satisfaction of results and trophies. Lose games at your own peril! Remember at Chiefs we don’t fire coaches, they fire themselves. Vuyisile Bovu, Mncuncuzo, Cofimvaba