Pule’s winning strike proves his worth to the Buccaneers

● Vincent Pule continued to underline how critical an acquisition he is at Orlando Pirates when he came from the bench to ensure his team moved to the last eight of the Telkom Knockout by beating Chippa United 1-0 last night.

The win could not have come at a better time for the Buccaneers as it is a huge morale booster ahead of the Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Pule tapped in Xola Mlambo’s cross from the right on the hour mark in a game that had all the signs of going to extra time and penalties as there were few clear-cut chances.

Former Bidvest Wits left winger Pule had replaced Zambian striker Augustine Mulenga at halftime after Bucs struggled to stamp their authority against Eric Tinkler’s side.

Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic made a couple of adjustments to his usual system, this time opting to play with Brazilian defender Marcelo da Silva and skipper Happy Jele at the heart of defence as Abbubaker Mobara and Innocent Maela pushed up as wing-backs on the right and left respectively.

What didn’t quite work for the Serbian was having three similar players in Musa Nyatama, Ben Mtshwari and Mlambo operating in midfield, with Thembinkosi Lorch joining Mulenga and Justin Shonga in attack.

The game proved open but with both sides unable to craft final passes in the last third, there were few chances. The first big opening fell to Shonga in the 35th minute.

The turning point came in the 40th minute when Tinkler clashed with his captain Mark Mayambela, who refused to take instructions. Tinkler responded by pulling the midfielder out and brought on Daine Klate in the 41st minute.

Mayambela clearly showed his frustration by not shaking hands with his coach when he was substituted.