Rain dampens Ghost spirit
If fans and players had conjoured up more enthusiasm, the game could have ended in a win
An ominous feeling persisted during the drive down Klipspruit Valley toward Orlando Stadium on Tuesday night. Jo’burg evening thunderstorms will give you that. Twisted lightning veins flashed across the darkening sky, telling us one was approaching.
The wind began to pick up and security guards hung on to their clipboards while ushering the last few cars inside. At any moment it would rain down on us and force a mass migration to the covered areas.
But, despite all the threats and gusto, it never came. All we got was measly, intermittent drizzle.
The weather gods couldn’t have given us a more apt metaphor for Orlando Pirates on the night.
Coach Milutin Sredojevic had promised us on a few occasions in recent weeks that his side are done throwing punches with gloves on. With Mamelodi Sundowns fiddling with the pressure knob, he couldn’t risk dropping points to a non-title challenger. Especially at home. We were inclined to believe him after the sweet 4-1 drilling of Amazulu the last time they played here.
The line-up and 3-4-3 formation confirmed the intent. The subsequent play did not, especially in the first half. Imagination, more than possession, was the issue here. Every pass and run seemed subdued. Laboured crosses up front came with no vision or drive.
It’s an attitude that was foreshadowed in the stands before the game even kicked off. Only a handful of supporters looked like they really wanted to be there on this mid-week night. Glum faces all around suggested this was more a chore than anything else.
Could it really be the rain that dampened everyone’s mood?
It was disconcerting to see even the ardent regulars up front stand still with arms crossed, struggling to raise their voices.
Only a few pockets around the ground managed to muster some calm swaying. Buccaneer flags drooped as their holders did. Sure, it was a Tuesday, but rarely has the Ghost looked so flat.
The same couldn’t be said for the contingent of Siwelele faithfuls who could be heard at the opposite end. There couldn’t have been much more than 30 of them but they provided the bulk of the frivolity in the opening 45 minutes. Presumably Free State expats, they were here to watch football and weren’t bothered by trivial things like a light shower.
They deserved their reward as Mbhazima Rikhotso tapped in the opener after a corner scramble.
The Bucs’ attitude, sullen as it was never going to last the full 90.
If you’ve ever been to a Premier Soccer League football match, you’ll know that the home side does everything it can to rile up their supporters. Players acknowledge them before, after and often during the game. At halftime a DJ will pump his mix across the loudspeakers, accompanied by hype-dancers who have the aim of getting everyone in full voice.
It worked to a certain extent here as hearty noise greeted the return to the field. Such artificial means, however, could never replicate the effects of actual good football, which, sure enough, was the catalyst for ratcheting it up further.
Pirates, presumably with Micho’s whip at their back, came out hell for leather in the second half. Immediately they bombarded Patrick Tignyemb’s goal. Even though he beat back the advances it was enough to win the crowd. They were now in this, cheering and sighing with every significant action.
On the stroke of the 80th minute they finally willed the ball into the back of the net. Luvuyo Memela got the easy finish but it was Justin Shonga with some inspiring dribbling that made the goal.
In this column last week, it was Kermit Erasmus’s cracker that threatened to turn a match on its head. Here, brilliance once more almost sent the tide in the other direction. Pushed on by the effort, the Buccaneers stormed the Celtic box, only denied a breakthrough by some dogged defending that extinguished any available space.
Had players and fans put in such effort together for more than 10 minutes, this arguably wouldn’t have finished 1-1.
Instead everyone ambled out of the stadium — a little wet and a bit unsure whether to celebrate the disappointing draw that nonetheless took them to the top of the table.