Star rewarded
Pitso turns to Brockie for Bucs battle
Mamelodi Sundowns striker Jeremy Brockie will be rewarded by coach Pitso Mosimane with another starting lineup place in the crunch Absa Premiership clash with Orlando Pirates on Saturday.
Brockie scored his first goal for Sundowns since he arrived at Chloorkop in a much-publicised move from SuperSport United in January in the convincing 3-1 league win over Free State Stars at Loftus on Wednesday.
Pressed on whether Brockie would start this weekend‚ Mosimane hinted that the big New Zealander would lead his attack against the Buccaneers.
“If you know me‚ you can answer the question of whether Brockie will play against Pirates or not‚” Mosimane said.
“I am happy for him that he scored the goal. Sometimes I asked myself: ‘Is this the same guy who scored double figures every year?’‚ because we feel sorry for our players when they are trying hard and not getting it right.
“I am happy also that Aubrey Ngoma started‚ even though you can see that he is still rusty‚ but the talent and potential is there.
“He still needs game time and in the 60th minute you can see that he slowed down, hence we substituted him.
“Lebohang Maboe is a young player who is still inexperienced but he works hard and needs some time.”
Brockie‚ who did not come cheap from SuperSport United when he signed for Downs‚ was under immense pressure from the Brazilians’ fans to break his duck as he had gone over a year without a goal in competitive football.
“Supporters are happy when you score and they are angry when the team lose‚ but one good thing about our supporters is that when we lose they still sing‚” Mosimane said.
“We lost to Baroka in the cup [Telkom Knockout] but they were singing and we must give them credit for that. They are spoilt because they are used to winning.”
Mosimane also said that if first-choice goalkeeper Denis Onyango is passed fit by Downs’ medical team from a shoulder injury he will take his place between the sticks from Reyaad Pieterse‚ who looked suspect again against Stars.
“Onyango has a shoulder injury and hopefully he makes it but we did not keep him out for this game because of Saturday [against Pirates].
“We are still fixing him and if he is ready‚ he is our No 1 goalkeeper. You can argue whether he is No 1 in South Africa or not‚ but in Africa he is No 1.”
Mosimane said Pirates would arrive in the capital as hot favourites because of their recent performances.
“Let’s be honest‚ they are a free-flowing team‚ they are the favourites. They look good‚ and they are on a high.
“They are winning every week. We just have to give them respect and do what we have to do.
“We would love to win because it is a big game‚ but they are favourites. It is still [almost] the same team of last year while we are rebuilding.”