Benni may be back in action for Pirates tonight
ORLANDO Pirates coach Roger De Sa has raised concerns about the absence of Sifiso Myeni and Siyabonga Sangweni for tonight’s league fixture against Chippa United.
But De Sa’s spirits should be lifted by the possible return from injury of Benni McCarthy and Thulasizwe Mbuyane.
De Sa should feel further relief that Myeni and Sangweni, who are both serving suspensions, will be available for the Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.
The Buccaneers visit Chippa at the Athlone Stadium and kick-off is at 7.30pm.
Although many Bucs fans probably view the Chippa match as nothing but a hors d’oeuvre before the main course on Saturday, De Sa knows how victory would raise confidence levels ahead of the derby.
“We’ll definitely miss Myeni and Sangweni. They’ve been key players to us so far this season,” De Sa was quoted as saying on the club’s website. “Myeni has been playing extremely well and as a coach you always need your key players for every game.”
Adding to De Sa’s concerns is the possible absence of Zimbabwean striker Takesure Chinyama, who injured his ankle last week.
Bucs have won five and drawn one of their past six matches and, on that form, are unlikely to lose that impressive record to lowly Chippa, who have been battling to find their feet in the top flight.
While the Buccaneers swept aside Wits 2-0 in their last league game, Chippa lost 3-2 to Ajax Cape Town in a game highlighted by comical keeping from their Niger goalie Kassaly
BIG Daouda. Now they could not have picked a worse opponent than the high-riding Buccaneers to try to pick themselves up. Without defender Gift Sithole, Chippa will rely on Vuyisile Ntombayithethi and Khanyisa Matomane to keep McCarthy and Mbuyane in check.
Elsewhere, tonight will see Craig Rosslee in charge of his first game since taking over at AmaZulu last week when the coastal side visit Black Leopards at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. Rosslee could have his work cut out for him to lift the bottom team, who have collected a mere nine points from 12 matches. But Leopards, themselves, have a fairly new coach in Ian Palmer, who is still trying to find the right combinations. The side lost 4-0 to Bucs and won 2-1 against the University of Pretoria in his first two games.
Meanwhile, Mamelodi Sundowns will get their league campaign back on track tonight, according to new coach Pitso Mosimane.
“I have faced big teams like Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Egypt, so I am ready for a big game,” Mosimane said.
The former Bafana Bafana coach, who was appointed on Monday as a replacement for Johan Neeskens, was preparing for a baptism of fire against Free State Stars in a Premiership encounter in Phuthaditjhaba.
The Brazilians are in 15th position on the log, with only two wins after 12 rounds of league matches.
In the fourth PSL match, Wits host University of Pretoria at Bidvest Stadium. – Additional reporting by Sapa