Other options up front
Kwame Peprah
The Ghanaian forward was linked with a move away from the club during the transfer window, with clubs abroad believed to have queued for his services. With little game-time early on in the season, he is understood to have been willing to leave and he could revisit that possibility in the January transfer window if things do not improve, as reported by the Siya crew. Last season, the 21-year-old was a regular under co-coaches Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids, but in this campaign, he has played a total of 84 minutes in four matches. Peprah was the main striker for the team last term, scoring nine goals in 38 appearances. He scored two braces in backto-back matches against Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu FC in December, which means all his goals were scored in a total of seven matches throughout the campaign. He is an option for coach Riveiro, but the Spaniard has not shown much confidence in the striker. He’s got the speed and strength to cause problems for defenders, but has often been accused of being wasteful in front of goal.
Zakhele Lepasa
Having shown a lot of potential in the junior ranks at Pirates, Lepasa has had a difficult time in the first team. He spent a bit-part of last season nursing an ankle injury he picked up in the previous campaign and that has hampered his progress. In 2020/21, the season Lepasa sustained his long-term injury, he scored two goals in 11 appearances. Last season, the striker did not find the back of the net in 11 appearances, after returning from injury. This season, the 25-year-old, who recently made his Bafana Bafana debut, has scored once in seven appearances. Since making his way up to the first team, the most he has scored in a season is two goals. A big concern has been the amount of chances the striker wastes, but with more game-time, but he is brilliant in oneon-one situations and possesses a real striker’s intelligence and instinct. He is looked at as a possible Messiah for Bucs in front of goal.
Monnapule Saleng & Terrence Dzvukamanja
Saleng returned from a loan spell with Swallows FC and recently got his first start in the MTN8 first leg semi-final against
Sundowns. While he is used more on the wing, he is a player with goalscoring ability. He was the top scorer for Free State Stars with 13 goals in 2020/21, which attracted Pirates’ interest. If played in a more central role, the 24-yearold could make a difference for Bucs. He’s got the speed and ability to take on defenders. Dzvukamanja, meanwhile, has struggled in front of goal and game-time has been hard to come by. The Zimbabwean international made his first appearance of the season when he came on as a substitute against Richards Bay over the weekend, a sign that Riveiro may have been looking for someone to improve on the team’s scoring problems. The Zimbabwean, though, has only scored four goals since joining in 2020 and seems to have long lost the trust of the fanbase. Can he redeem himself?