Majoro waiting in the wings to pounce on Étoile

JUST LIKE the man himself, Thamsanqa Gabuza’s performance in the CAF Confederation Cup has towered over Lehlohonolo Majoro who has been reduced to a supporting act for Orlando Pirates while Gabuza and Kermit Erasmus steal the show. The duo have excelled as a lethal partnership up front – scoring 10 goals, five apiece – in Pirates’ run to reach the final. They take on Tunisian giants Étoile du Sahel at Orlando Stadium tomorrow at 8pm in the first leg.

When Majoro has been given a chance he has made the most of it, like when he started the comeback from 2-0 down to help Pirates draw 2-2 with CF Mounana in Libreville in the second round.

That was his second goal of the tournament, with the first coming before that match to help the Buccaneers defeat Uganda Revenue Authority (URA). But for the most part, Majoro has been watching the outfit from the bench.

Faouzi Benzarti, Sahel’s coach, has also been watching the Sea Robbers closely, boasting that he knows a lot about them. Front of mind for him must be the Gabuza-Erasmus partnership that has accounted for at least one Pirates score in every match they have played in, raking an impressive 30 goals (while Sahel have found the back of the net 18 times).

But the Tunisians boast a solid defence. If Benzarti manages to shut down Gabuza and Erasmus, Majoro will be important in coming from the bench to break the shackles.

“As a professional footballer you know that you are not in control of selection but you are in control of motivating yourself,” Majoro said. “I believe that no matter how hard things are, I must always push and persevere. It hasn’t been easy. It has been quite some time since I last scored, until recently (against Ajax Cape Town in the PSL). I will keep on doing my best.”

This is a whole new experience for Majoro, who as a Kaizer Chiefs player watched Pirates reach the final of the 2013 CAF Champions League before joining the Buccaneers from their archrivals last year. “I had an opportunity to watch them play the final in the Champions League,” Majoro said. “I saw the hunger and commitment they showed when they were playing there. It made me want to be a part of such hardworking individuals as a player.”