Lorch shows why he is vital
DESERVED AWARD: PIRATES STAR WEARS HIS HEART ON HIS SLEEVE AND GIVES EVERYTHING
There is an enduring image of Thembinkosi Lorch at the end of Saturday’s Telkom Knockout final, slumped on his haunches, his penalty miss against Baroka FC having sealed the Buccaneers’ fate at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
It can only have been little consolation to Lorch that he won Man-of-the-Match, after an excellent display had helped 10-man Pirates drag the game to a shootout in the first place.
And it will probably be even less consolation that our readers have selected Lorch as Phakaaathi’s Player of the Month for November.
And yet, on reflection, the 25year-old has little to apologise to his team-mates for. It was his fine finish that levelled the scores at 2-2 in extra time, and it is surely Marshall Muntesi who needs to take a long hard look in the mirror after the appalling challenge that reduced Micho Sredojevic’s side to 10 men.
Lorch, furthermore, has been one of the bright sparks at Pirates in the last couple of months, never mind on Saturday, and it was his form that helped propel Pirates into the final with some stunning displays in November.
Lorch netted twice in the TKO quarterfinals against AmaZulu as Pirates won 3-1 after extra time, and then opened the scoring in the Soweto derby semifinal, as Pirates completed another 2-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs.
Lorch has been a key element of a Pirates attack that has been in fine form, propelling the Buccaneers all the way to the top of the Absa Premiership, where they currently sit ahead of tonight’s visit to Free State Stars.
His form even caught the attention of Bafana Bafana coach Stuart Baxter, and he came off the bench on the hour mark in South Africa’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying draw with Nigeria in November, the only substitution Baxter made in the entire match.
Lorch now needs to pick himself up from the disappointment on Saturday, and if he can the striker is likely to be a key part of Pirates’ title challenge this season.