Pirates are simply not looking hungry

Orlando Pirates might be in the second year of their project under Jose Riveiro, and while they have had cup success under the stonefaced Spaniard, Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at home to Cape Town Spurs shows just how far they are from being genuine DStv Premiership title contenders.

For any top team looking to challenge for league honours, home games against relegation-threatened sides should be easy pickings. There’s no other way to put it because if you can’t operate in that fashion, you’re always going to find yourself wondering what could have been, while your rivals are ahead of you.

Anyway, I think it goes without saying that if you consider yourself a big club that has big ambitions, your home ground should be a fortress and any team visiting Orlando Stadium should never feel welcome at any given time.

The Urban Warriors had good spells of possession and on the balance of play, one would say they deserved their point after Gabriel Michael equalised late in the second-half to cancel out Relebogile Mofokeng’s opener.

How did Pirates players fail to see out the game against a team that is embroiled in a relegation dogfight? That’s a question the Buccaneers faithful grappled with after the final whistle.

Has the fear factor of playing the Sea Robbers in Soweto evaporated? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself because Spurs looked so comfortable under the lights in Orlando.

They would have never been that brave against Mamelodi Sundowns in Tshwane. Yes, I’m using Sundowns as a yardstick because

Pirates should possess the same aura and play at their level if they have any hopes of breaking the monopoly the Brazilians currently have on the domestic game.

Pirates have done well in cup competitions under Riveiro but they just don’t look like a side capable of challenging for the big fish, which is the DStv Premiership.

The 1-1 draw meant that the Urban Warriors have taken four points from Pirates, who lost the reverse fixture 2-1 four months ago.

To further illustrate my point, Polokwane City went to Orlando and left with a point in a similar fashion earlier this season.

Pirates had their noses in front for the majority of the game, only for Rise and Shine to snatch a draw with 18 minutes left in the game.

When the season is done and dusted, these are the kind of games that they will look back on with regret as they are now 12 points adrift of log leaders Sundowns, who have three games in hand. There were also home defeats to Masandawana and Stellenbosch FC.

The loss to the Stellies represents a story of their season. They gave away a 2-0 lead and conceded three goals with 21 minutes left.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. They did win the MTN8.