The Big Two are finding their feet

This weekend saw victory for Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. Starting with Chiefs, it is not easy to go away to Cape Town City and win, especially under a cloud of uncertainty, in their defence and with their coach who is still trying to find his feet.

The international break was good for them, they had time to work on their stability at the back, and it is good to see they are now returning to the combination that started the season, with Daniel Cardoso and Siyabonga Ngezana in tandem again.

Siphosakhe Ntiyantiya came back and acquitted himself well. But the big talking point was Lebo Manyama and the fact he lasted 77 minutes on debut.

He added impetus to the attack, which is now looking strong – with Khama Billiat, Manyama and Leonardo Castro, if he is fit.

Dumisani Zuma is slowly making a name for himself down the flank. All these are very attack-minded players, along with Siphelele Ntshangase, playing just behind Manyama. It gives them more attacking options. I felt they used the spaces well behind the likes of Ebrahim Seedat and Thamsanqa Mkhize. They exploited the space nicely and, importantly, got the goals.

Yes, the first one was from a set-piece, but they used their size. It was a massive win and will get confidence back in the players. It was something for the fans to be happy about – beating City away from home. Yes, City went down to 10 men, but Chiefs took advantage of the situation. They have a philosophy that is more attack-minded. Bernard Parker also came on and did extremely well, being involved in two of the goals. It is great when you have his quality, and the experience he gives you.

Orlando Pirates are also heading in the right direction. I think similarly they used the international break very well.

Scoring three goals against SuperSport was clearly what they needed, because scoring has been a question mark hanging over the new Pirates. They have been very exciting going forward, and are able to unlock tight defences bethanks to their mobility and understanding of space.

Vincent Pule starts on the wing but drifts inside, and when he goes there, Augustine Mulenga drifts wide.

There is a nice balance but scoring goals was a question mark. It looked like they had worked on movement in the final third, there was definitely a change of pace there. Earlier in the league, Pirates looked a bit one-paced. On Saturday evening there was a big difference.

Pule is quickly becoming a star man, but I also like the central midfield of Linda Mntambo, Xola Mlambo and Ben Motshwari. Motshwari was outstanding and could have been Man-of-the-Match.

They have got it right in midfield. Sometimes they play a flat three, and sometimes one midfielder sits in and the other two attack. We saw the likes of Mlambo and Mntambo push upfield and put pressure on the SuperSport defence.

But Pirates struggle to hold onto a lead. In the MTN8 against SuperSport this was also the case. They took the lead on Saturday and then were a bit too fancy.

SuperSport hit back and could have gone ahead if not for a great save from Fagrie Lakay. Then it would have been 2-1 to SuperSport, but Pirates showed character and fought back.