Pirates to face Esperance without Lekgwathi
ORLANDO Pirates will attempt to power through to the final of the Caf Champions League without Lucky Lekgwathi, their captain and longest-serving player, who was left out of the travelling squad to Tunisia last night.
The Pirates boarded EgyptAir to Cairo where they will catch a connecting flight to Tunis to face Esperance in the second-leg semifinal clash at the Stade Olympique de Rades on Saturday at 8pm.
Pirates coach Roger de Sa confirmed Lekgwathi had not been selected for the crucial encounter. “We’ve got to play those guys we think are ready for the next match.
“Lucky has missed four matches and to go and throw him in against Esperance is a bit unfair,” he said.
“There are no issues around him being left out and I don’t think it affects the team morale at all. Like I have said before, it is not about one player but about the whole squad.
“If he is complaining about not playing, I have 19 other players who have also not been playing.”
Lekgwathi’s exclusion from the travelling team to face Esperance is no regular omission.
The 38-year-old took to his column in the Daily Sun to vent his frustration two weeks ago after missing out on a place in the team in the MTN8 second-leg semifinal against Soweto rivals Chiefs on September 24.
The Buccaneers beat Amakhosi 2-1 on aggregate to progress to the top 8 final where they took on Platinum Stars at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium four days later.
Lekgwathi also watched that match as a spectator, leading to his scathing column, in which he alleged that “sinister forces” at the club did not want to see him succeed.
The former Bafana defender also missed the first leg against Esperance, a goalless draw at Orlando Stadium earlier this month, as well as the Telkom Knockout round-of-16 clash against Mpumalanga Black Aces.
Kaizer The Buccaneers were the 3-1 victors in that Nelspruit thriller.
Yesterday, before the team’s departure for Tunis, Lekgwathi assumed his role as the club captain by introducing each player to Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula.
De Sa said Lekgwathi dealt well with his omission. “We select the team according to the opposition and according to form at training. There are no problems, We have discussed it,” he said.
With Siyabonga Sangweni also out until early next year with a torn Achilles tendon, De Sa will partner Rooi Mahamutsa alongside the inexperienced Ayanda Gcaba in central defence on Saturday. Happy Jele will captain the team. A scoring draw will be enough to get the Pirates into the final for the first time since 1995, when they won the title.