No quick fix for Pirates - Ertugral
Slowly, Mushin Ertugral’s touch is starting to show in Orlando Pirates’ game, writes Njabulo Ngidi.
|||Johannesburg - Slowly, Mushin Ertugral’s touch is starting to show in Orlando Pirates’ game. But the coach feels it will take “two to three months” for him to fully instil his philosophy. The Turkish mentor knows there is no such thing as “time to adapt” in a team like Pirates where he is expected to get going from the first match.
The demands are so high that Ertugral has found himself having to explain why Pirates have scored just one goal in their four high-profile pre-season matches. That goal came in the 3-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in Namibia.
They didn’t score against Kaizer Chiefs, Tigers FC and Platinum Stars. Ertugral isn’t bothered by that, not only because the side has a strong attack that they haven’t used to the maximum but also because his first target has been to tighten the defence. They’ve kept a clean sheet in their last two matches. The defenders are slowly shaking the habit of hoofing the ball forward aimlessly when they clear it, to being the ones who start the attack like he demands.
“We can challenge (for the league),” Ertugral said. “We have a squad that can do it. For me the most important thing to do now until the season starts is to find a platform first, how to defend. If you don’t concede, you won’t lose. We need to get our defensive patterns right.
“The important point is whenever we lose the ball, what do we do? How quick are we to get organised? The split second from when you lose the ball to organising yourself is vital, even without the pressure from the opponents. We are a long way from being ready. We need two to three months to get where I want the team to be. We need to get the fundamentals right first.”
In strengthening that defence, Ertugral has a tough choice to make on who will be the No1 goalkeeper. Felipe Ovono has gone from being transfer-listed to a strong candidate to make that jersey his own. He helped the Buccaneers win the Maize Cup at the expense of Platinum Stars, 3-1 in penalties at Moruleng Stadium on Saturday. Ovono has to compete with Jackson Mabokgwane who was solid in the first half of that match. There is also Brighton Mhlongo who is currently the first choice.
And then there is Siyabonga Mpontshane who played one more game than Ovono last season with his six starts. Mpontshane deputised for Mhlongo for most of that campaign.
“We haven’t decided who will be the No 1 goalkeeper,” Ertugral said. “Ovono is a good keeper. He doesn’t need to prove himself in South Africa. It’s great to have him back. I don’t know what happened last season, I wasn’t there. He will stay. We have also seen that Jackson is a good goalkeeper. It’s a nice competition there.”
Ertugral had a similar situation at Black Aces last season where Mabokgwane competed with Shu-Aib Walters for the No 1 jersey. Mabokgwane wasn’t done any favours even though he was in the national team set-up where the No 1 jersey was vacant. When he slipped up, Walters took over. But the two were constantly in the match-day 18. How Ertugral motivates the two keepers who’ll be in the stands will be key in getting the best out of them when they’re needed.
Bucs go into their final phase of pre-season today. The trio of Abbubaker Mobara, Thabiso Kutumela and Gift Motupa will start their season with the club after representing SA at the Olympics.
The Star