Stars make Bucs sweat before Ndoro scores a beauty
THANDO Ndzandzeka must be the most unfortunate match official in the country. Thunderstorms and power outages tend to follow him around, especially when he officiates in Soweto.
Even though the lights did not completely go out, their partial absence formed part of what was an exciting match, even though Mother Nature’s fury made conditions quite dangerous at times.
The game matched the spectacular lightning that arced around Orlando Stadium, and Tendai Ndoro’s 22nd-minute strike from a Mpho Makola pass was a thing of beauty.
The pace and ingenuity Pirates showed in the creation of the goal is a perfect message to SuperSport United ahead of their Telkom Knockout Cup semifinal in Mbombela on Saturday.
However, they must not look too far ahead of themselves, as the wounded Chippa United lie in wait at Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday.
In their strip that makes them look more like Peru or River Plate than a domestic side, Free State Stars will give Cape Town City a run for their money in their semifinal at the Athlete Stadium.
Under Giovanni Solinas, they have quickly morphed into a tactically astute and compact unit that put a high premium on conceding goals. The manner in which they made Pirates sweat belied their lowly 15th place on the log.
They may be winless so far but they’ve drawn five of their nine games and that elusive win is just around the corner.
Unfortunately, they did not have enough in their attacking arsenal to break their 21-year hoodoo against Pirates in home league matches.
It was clear that Pirates’ players wanted to impress Augusto Palacios in his first league game, but their exuberance bordered on arrogance and profligacy.
In a five-minute sequence between the 72nd and 77th minutes, Thela Ngobeni was called on to keep out Ndoro, Luvuyo Memela and Justice Chabalala. This cohesive attacking intent was missing during Muhsin Ertugral's short-lived reign but the wastefulness lived on.
Playing as a left-footed right winger, Memela was in his element and the Stars defence could not cope with his pace.
However, Ndoro’s finishing, especially with his 73rd- and 75th-minute opportunities, left a lot to be desired.
It was the same with his 85th-minute chance that was well saved by Ngobeni, where a case of a simple and composed finish would have done the trick, instead of the over-elaboration that stymied his chances. He could have reached double figures if he put his mind to it, but he remains on eight goals.
At the end of the day, it could have been a means to an end to entertain the decent crowd that braved the heavy first-half rain.
Pirates may still be undefeated at home, but, for a side that before last night last won a home league game on August 24, when they beat Golden Arrows 3-1 through Ndoro's hat-trick, they could have prioritised efficiency ahead of enterprise. Fortunately, they emerged unscathed.