Expected fireworks were a damp squib
The atmosphere at Saturday’s Soweto derby was scintillating, the sun was shining gloriously, and it was all set up to be a cracker of a match too.
Yet the fireworks, unfortunately, never really ignited on the field of play, with Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates delivering a careful, tactical match that was more aligned with an afternoon siesta than a football spectacular.
It was not exactly surprising that it basically took a dive to get the game’s first goal, Khama Billiat going down in a heap as if the full weight of the earth had fallen upon his shoulders, and not the slight brush of the arm of Asavela Mbekile.
Billiat was simply playing the game, frankly, the way the modern footballer plays, where winning a penalty like that is frowned upon by those keen to crow from the moral high ground, but those same people tend to brush one off with a laugh when their own favourite player does the same and the referee points to the spot.
Billiat is a proven winner and the ultimate aim was to get Chiefs that first win over Pirates in more than four years. Similarly, Daniel Akpeyi’s rolling around in the area with an “injury” as Chiefs tried to see the game out was simply a tactic employed by teams all over the globe.
Perhaps justice was ultimately done, however, as Thembinkosi Lorch broke clear to show the coolest of heads, rounding Akpeyi to seal a point for the Buccaneers.
If a criticism is to be levelled, I think it is to be at the coaches, Ernst Middendorp and Milutin Sredojevic, who I don’t feel set their teams up to win the derby. Both have unbeaten records in this game, dating back to their first spells in charge, and it was almost as if both were too keen to preserve those records, ahead of going all out for victory.
If Pirates do fail to win the title they should look back on days like this, when they are clearly the better side, with regret. This Chiefs side are perhaps less there to be beaten than they were under Giovanni Solinas, but they are still very much a work in progress.
Ultimately, this was a result to suit neither side, and Pitso Mosimane must be smiling inside from ear to ear, particularly after both Bidvest Wits and Cape Town City lost on a weekend that benefitted a side in yellow who sat in Abidjan, awaiting this evening’s Champions League game against ASEC Mimosas.
Sundowns and Pirates are both engaged in Champions League action this evening, but at least Sundowns have had the weekend off.
The Buccaneers must play Esperance in Tunis just three days after the Soweto Derby, though they at least do not have to deal with an intimidating atmosphere, with the Tunisian giants forced to play the game behind closed doors.
Pirates can draw on memories of their encounter with Al Ahly behind closed doors in El Gouna in 2013, when Roger de Sa’s side beat the Egyptian giants 3-0 en route to reaching the final of the Caf Champions League.
We hear from Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic and Sundowns striker Anthony Laffor in this week’s Phakaaathi, while congratulations must go to Mwape Musonda, the Black Leopards striker named Phakaaathi’s Player of the Month for January.
Turn to Page 7 to find out if you managed to win R350 in airtime by picking Musonda. On the same page, you can catch up on the latest on the Phakaaathi Private Fantasy League, which you can still enter by following the rules in the advert on Page 7.
Good luck!