Brockie rewarded with start after breaking duck

Mamelodi Sundowns striker Jeremy Brockie will be rewarded by coach Pitso Mosimane with another start in the crunch Premiership encounter against Orlando Pirates at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Brockie scored his first goal for Sundowns in the convincing 3-1 league win over Free State Stars at Loftus on Wednesday.

The goal broke his drought since arriving at Chloorkop in a much publicised move from SuperSport United in January.

Pressed whether Brockie will start this weekend‚ Mosimane hinted that the 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‚” said Mosimane.

“I am happy also that Aubrey Ngoma started‚ even though you can see that he is still rusty‚ but the talent and potential [are] 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 was under immense pressure from Brazilian fans to break his duck, as he has 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 so 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 again looked suspect against Stars.

“We are still fixing him and if he is ready‚ he is our No 1 goalkeeper.”

Mosimane said Pirates will 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‚ they are noisy 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,” the coach said.