How Bucs wrote the winning script
Chiefs defence has been rather leaky of late Derby after party
Orlando Pirates’s 2-1 win over rivals Kaizer Chiefs appears to be a reflection on the work done by the Bucs technical team in preparation for the big clash at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Pirates came from behind to beat Chiefs with goals from Innocent Maela and Vincent Pule, after Khama Billiat had given the visitors an early lead.
Prior to the clash, Pirates assistant coach Rulani Mokwena caused a stir when he suggested that Chiefs’s technical team was not the same without Steve Komphela, who resigned in March and is now with Bloemfontein Celtic. ‘‘Honestly‚ without sounding biased to probably my allegiance to Steve‚ I think having lost Steve Komphela is in my opinion a big loss for Chiefs from a technical perspective‚” Mokwena said. ‘‘The type of leader that he is‚ the tactical acumen that he possesses – I think in that regard, if you compare the previous team to this team – from an organisational perspective‚ you can clearly see the lack of a coach of that calibre.” During the match, Chiefs’ defence was in sixes and sevens. After conceding a penalty, taken by Justin Shonga and saved by Itumeleng Khune, Chiefs let in two goals within a few minutes thereafter in the first half. What is clear is that the Chiefs rearguard has been struggling, especially that they battle to re-organise after conceding.
In the 2-2 MTN8 draw against SuperSport United they allowed Bradley Grobler to score twice in 14 minutes, and in the following match, another 2-2 stalemate this time against Celtic, they let in two goals in three minutes. Like Celtic, Pirates also got two in three minutes. Bucs coach Micho Sredojevic was never going to speak candidly about how they dismantled the Chiefs defence owing to his respect for their sworn enemies, only safe to say they planned well. “Our job throughout the week was to properly prepare for what was needed, so, whatever we did mirrors what we did at training,” said the Serbian.
“We had to make them physically fit to last the 90 minutes and tactically competitive.”
One of the players who was instrumental in helping the Buccaneers seal victory was Zambian forward, Augustine Mulenga. He’s looking forward to more of the same. “The good thing for me is that if I don’t score, I create,” Mulenga commented. Pirates take on AmaZulu at Princess Magogo Stadium on Saturday in a Telkom Knockout quarterfinal clash.
Other PSL results:
Bloemfontein Celtic 1, Baroka 0. Black Leopards 1, Free State Stars 1.
SuperSport United 1, Lamontville Golden Arrows 1.