Buccaneers slowly on the road to redemption
STUART Baxter’s, flirting with the Bafana Bafana job didn’t only turn his head, it also sent his team into a tailspin. United had gone 19 games unbeaten before they played Baroka FC. In that run, the bulk of those matches ended in draws.
Worse, since Baxter was mentioned in the same sentence as the Bafana job, Matsatsantsa a Pitori have not succeeded to register a victory. They’ve crumbled under the weight of expectation and that will chaff chairman Khulu Sibiya.
As things stands the league appears to be a bridge too far for the Briton and his boys if their listless showing against Sundowns is used as a yardstick. They looked slightly off-colour and decidedly deprived of ideas to deal with a Downs juggernaut that thundered through Loftus Versfeld.
They better recover from the ramshackle show faster than lightning because the selfsame Sundowns that paralysed them 5-0 return for the second meeting on Wednesday. Things won’t get easy afterwards as hot on the heels of Downs will be fellow champions wannabes Bidvest Wits and Kaizer Chiefs. They have dropped the ball in disappointing fashion quite a few times, drawing THE Buccaneers have found the compass to take themselves out of the depths of despair they have loitered in for the most part of the season. But finding the compass is half the job done, they still have a lot of distance to cover before they see familiar surroundings.
The single point they bagged yesterday still sees them just six points ahead of the side at the bottom. But how they have been playing lately will give those associated with the club confidence that talks of being drawn into the relegation scramble, bizarre as it sounds, will end soon.
The same cannot be said for the Lions of the North even though they moved from the bottom to 15th place, pushing fellow rookies Baroka FC down. Highlands Park have a mammoth task ahead of them matches they should have won and losing those they should have won with ease, like they did when they ended in a deadlock with tailenders Baroka in the first round meeting and losing 1-0 to the same basement boys. Baxter manages a team he has built around players like Morgan Gould, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Mandla Masango, Kingston Nkhatha, Keagan Ritchie, he won the league with at Chiefs. Together they know how to navigate their way to the Holy Grail. His Chiefs Lite appear to have flattered to deceive in delivering the title. in their fight for survival.
It’s easy to determine how well the Buccaneers are playing, you just need to listen to how loud The Ghost chant “Ace” whenever Oupa Manyisa has the ball. During the club’s slump, those chants were either whispered or not there at all with Manyisa a shadow of his former self after the injury that kept him out of action for almost nine months.
The Buccaneers’ heartbeat, Manyisa, has found himself and the club’s pulse is once again beating, unlike the nervous state it has been in.
The presence of Harold “Jazzy Queen” Legodi in the club’s technical team, the man who nurtured Manyisa’s talent, has played a role in the rebirth of the Pirates captain. Manyisa covered almost every inch of this ground. He lulled Highlands’ defenders by strolling with the ball before he burst into action like he has done in wins over Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup and Maritzburg United in the league. Even Issa Sarr raised his game. While the Buccaneers looked at Manyisa for inspiration, the hosts relied on Surprise Moriri.
The veteran midfielder came in handy with his super power of freezing time with his deceiving body language. But his team didn’t benefit from that because he had to pass to mortals like Peter Shalulile who aren’t at his level. That resulted in the club hardly testing Siyabonga Mpontshane. Highlands didn’t mind sitting back, looking to catch Pirates on a counter.
It was a risky move because of the club’s woeful defence, the worst in the league. The Lions of the North came into this match having kept just two clean sheets in 23 matches.
That caused a lot of nervous moments for Tapuwa Kapini in goal. The Zimbabwean used his experience to slow the game by CATCH ME: Siyabonga Nhlapho of Highlands Park, left, is challenged by Abbubaker Mobara of Orlando Pirates during their Absa Premiership match at Makhulong Stadium yesterday
Gordon Igesund has failed to turn things around at Highlands
being “injured” as Pirates found their rhythm.
Surviving relegation with such a miserable defence would be a miracle only comparable to waking up from the dead. Gordon Igesund has done it before with Moroka Swallows, even going as far as almost winning the league with them. But this time around, his magic wand has lost its spark.
Igesund has failed to turn things around at Highlands despite having a number of experienced players, the type that he does well with. With each passing match, Highlands move closer to returning to the first division along with Baroka.
That would be a pity for the people of Tembisa township and Ekurhuleni at large as they have embraced Highlands.
Last night, the local supporters filled Makhulong Stadium to capacity and even though a large part of the crowd backed Pirates, a decent number of them were behind the Lions of the North — something they could soon be robbed of doing in the Premier Soccer League.