Baroka need a home win
Bakgaga have good chance of breaking duck against poor Pirates
BAROKA FC want to exorcise a ghost that has tormented them in Polokwane this season when they host Orlando Pirates at Peter Mokaba Stadium in the Absa Premiership tomorrow.
Bakgaga have been poor at home this season.
They started on a positive note when they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with the then highflying Cape Town City. That result, which was followed by a 1-0 win over Bidvest Wits in Johannesburg, caused people to take note and believe that coach Wedson Nyirenda might just have what it takes to meet the club’s difficult mandate – to win the league.
But the wheels came off because of their poor record at home. Baroka’s three wins have all come on the road.
“We give away silly goals,” Nyirenda said.
“How do you move on from that because it’s becoming difficult now?
“Look at the training that we are doing, everything is moving. The goals are being scored and defending is being done, and then you come to the game and people just give away (silly goals).
“That ghost, which is at home, how can you be losing games at home?
“Not winning any game. “Now you are depending on away goals, it doesn’t work like that. For a team that wants to be on top and do greater things, you have to be on top of your home games.”
The coach is adamant that he isn’t worried about his future, just like Pirates coach Rhulani Mokwena who he will come up against tomorrow.
Mokwena has also not had things his way at Pirates. The Buccaneers have blown hot and cold under him, but mainly cold, which has led to doubts about his capabilities to lead the side.
Tactically Mokwena has done well; it’s just that key results haven’t gone his way despite the team playing well.
The same can be said for Baroka. The team create a number of chances but they don’t take them.
Against a porous Pirates defence, they will fancy their chances of recording their first home win.
What’s alarming about Baroka’s drop is not just because they were Telkom Knockout champions last year but because they are struggling in front of goal, despite being led by a man who was a potent striker for Kaizer Chiefs in his playing days.
“You know, goalscoring is an art,” Nyirenda said.
“It’s simple things. There are three important things in goal scoring: place yourself in the scoring position; be there at the right time and when you are there at the right time it means that you are meeting the ball in the right place; the last thing is to do the right thing, the technique on demand.
“But you see my team, every time I am talking about this they want to kill. Who do they want to kill?
“You are alone, the net is waiting for you and you want to blast people. We want to blow the net.
“This is what is happening, and then you start believing that there is ‘juju’, there is ‘muti’ and whatever. There is nothing like that.
“It is there, you have to do those three things in the art of scoring. It is there but we don’t do it,” said a frustrated Nyirenda.