Chippa ready for Pirates grind
MIHLALI BALEKA
CHIPPA United coach Norman Mapeza is adamant his team is not plotting for Orlando Pirates’ downfall through targeting individuals, instead the Chilli Boys are well equipped to take down the entire Bucs brigade.
Pirates are enjoying a rich vein of form – they were the only unbeaten team in January after bagging four wins, while their blemish was an away draw to Bloemfontein Celtic in their first match of the month.
The Buccaneers’ resurgence last month appeared to be the start of greater things to come as the team’s striking contingent scored a whopping 10 goals, with Gabadinho Mhango contributing six strikes to that tally.
The Malawian, who now leads the Premiership scoring charts with 12 goals in 17 matches, has been targeted by opposition defences. Amazulu, last weekend, were the only team that managed to silence him in six league matches.
However, Mhango’s inability to score against Usuthu showed that Pirates have a potent attack, as other individuals are able to pick up the scoring baton.
And that’s why Thembinkosi Lorch and Vincent Pule combined to earn Bucs a victory which kept up their momentum in what has been an eventful month for the club.
“Look someone asked me the same question (of whether we are targeting Mhango). But if I am going to focus on Gabadinho Mhango, what about Lorch, Pule and (Luvuyo) Memela? We work around the whole group (Orlando Pirates team); we can’t put our emphasis on one player,” Mapeza said this week.
It would be naïve of the Chilli Boys to focus on one player especially having unceremoniously conceded four goals in the last two matches against Celtic and Supersport United.
That recent poor run of form has seen the Port Elizabeth-based side dent the impressive work they had achieved under the Zimbabwean’s stewardship.
At some point Chippa enjoyed a six-game unbeaten run, which included as many clean sheets.
However, not all is lost. Should Chippa find their defensive organisation and scoring boots this evening (6pm kick-off) against the Sea Robbers at home at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, they could shut up their detractors and climb as high as eighth on the log standings.
“We have to work hard, there’s nothing that surpasses that. We have to go out there and put more than a thousand percent effort, that’s the only solution. We need to be organised of how we are going to defend and attack,” Mapeza explained.
“In each and every game that we’ve played, I’ve been talking about organisation collectively as a team. And if there’s no communication starting from the back going forward, then there won’t be any organisation.”
Three points for the Chilli Boys tonight will be a perfect icing to their 10-year birthday celebrations.