Santos put on a real show to stun mighty Pirates
ON Monday, captain Wayne Arendse said Santos weren’t a long way off producing that complete performance.
But he probably didn’t dream it would come as early as last night as he and his teammates put on a real show to beat the mighty Orlando Pirates 3-0 in a Premiership clash at Athlone Stadium.
Bucs, on the other hand, looked a pale shadow of the club currently in possession of every piece of silverware in South African football.
It seems the saga surrounding the suspension of coach Julio Leal, as well as the distraction of Saturday’s Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs, had a massive influence on what turned out to be a rather flat and disorganised performance.
Caretaker coach Augusto Palacios has only had one training session with Pirates since taking over from Leal. And it showed. The visitors were all at sea at the back, while the midfield combination of Thandani Ntshumayelo, Isaac Chansa and Oupa Manyisa didn’t provide any real goal-scoring chances for a frustrated Benni Mccarthy upfront.
But take nothing away from the People’s Team.
There are simply not enough superlatives one can come up with to describe the passion, commitment and skill they showed. And if they continue to put in top team performances like last night’s effort, they will be fighting for a spot in the top eight rather than battling to stay in the top flight.
It’s hard to single out any Santos player, but the goal-scorers, the old firm of Erwin Isaacs and Eleazar Rodgers, deserve a special mention for the way they put the defending champions away.
Isaacs stunned the Bucs faithful as early as the second minute when he gave his team the lead with an outstanding effort.
Veteran defender Nasief Morris’s magnificent pass from the back caught the Pirates defence square and found Isaacs, who skipped over Rooi Mahamutsa’s tackle and rounded goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs to slot the ball home.
Rodgers, who had been threatening to get back to his best, contributed a brace in the second half to send Pirates into Saturday’s Soweto derby low on confidence and probably more bewildered than they were when they arrived in the Mother City.
His first goal in the 64th minute came from another defensive lapse by Bucs. They went to sleep at the back, allowing Rodgers to flick the ball past Josephs after a superb free kick into the penalty area by Matthew Pattison.
And it was Pattison who also set up Rodgers’s second goal in the 73rd minute, when the visitors were caught on the break. Rodgers found himself one on one with Josephs and calmly slotted the ball past the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper’s outstretched hands.
Mccarthy, making his first club appearance in Cape Town since he moved to Ajax Amsterdam as a youngster, was tightly marked by Arendse all night. The Santos captain and central defensive partner Morris were simply outstanding, intercepting everything coming the way of Bafana’s alltime leading scorer.
Mccarthy had a chance on the hour mark, but he was ruled offside and was booked for his troubles when shooting at goal after the whistle had gone. He was substituted eight minutes later.
Pattison, who must have the biggest lungs in the Premiership, was a disruptive force all night, while his distribution was again out of the top drawer. He is certainly getting to his best, and his signing, together with that of Morris and goalkeeper Pa Dembo Touray, must be the best piece of business done in the January transfer window.
Santos now travel to Bloemfontein Celtic on Sunday. And if they put on another performance like last night’s, they will definitely be a nasty prospect for every team in the running for the league title.