Pirates kick PSL season off with win over Arrows
While Mushin Ertugral officially started his chapter as the Buccaneers’ coach in style, Lucky Lekgwathi ended his.
|||Orlando Stadium - While Mushin Ertugral officially started his chapter as the Buccaneers’ coach in style, Lucky Lekgwathi ended his. Dressed in a crisp black suit with a white shirt, Lekgwathi walked into this venue just before kick off to lift one final accolade – a framed jersey, to celebrate the end of a professional football career that stretched over 19 years. He spent 14 of those years at Pirates.
In his time as the Buccaneers’ captain, the 40-year-old lifted six trophies in a space of two seasons in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 campaigns.
Pirates’ haven’t lifted the league since then. They started their quest to change that by firing loud warning shots with Tendai Ndoro scoring the first hat-trick of the season. But it wasn’t easy, with Pirates only finding their rhythm towards the end of the match. Ertugral could be heard barking instructions from the stands, thanks to a half-empty crowd in the first half and the mentor’s desire to start on a good note.
Abafana Bes’thende didn’t allow Pirates’ to impose themselves. The Durban side took the game to Pirates, using their speed and skill to open the hosts’ defence that was marshalled by Felipe Ovono in goal. Brighton Mhlongo was in the stands with Jackson Mabokgwane deputising for Ovono. Arrows exploited the space that was left by Happy Jele and Thembela Sikhakhane.
The former Arrows rightback, Sikhakhane, was one of two new faces in Pirates’ starting XI. The other was Ghanaian winger Bernard Morrison, who had a low-key debut and was substituted at halftime. The Buccaneers finished the first half shaky, with their defence easily torn apart. But they started the second half on fire, scoring just three minutes into it from a neat move by Thabo Rakhale and Mpho Makola to set up Ndoro.
Those 10 minutes, the last five of the first half and the first five in the second, highlighted the work that lies ahead for Ertugral. He has to strengthen a defence that struggles to deal with pace. The positive is that he has a strong attack that can carry the side while they work on those issues, just as long as they play into Ndoro’s strength by making him run at defenders instead of being used as a target man.
Ertugral could afford to smile after the first goal while the Ghost found their voices. But those celebrations didn’t last long when Nduduzo Sibiya equalised for Arrows. Ovono, who was put on transfer and then recalled after impressing Ertugral, failed to deal with a simple cross. He parried the ball into the path of Kudakwashe Mahachi who hit the post. Sibiya was the fastest to react inside the box to slot the ball past Ovono.
With the club’s defence slipping up, it was up to their attack to bail them. Ndoro did that with his powerful header from Makola’s free-kick. Ertugral almost ran into the pitch to embrace the Zimbabwean forward in a match where the coach’s emotions took an intense roller-coaster ride. When Ndoro completed his hat-trick, Ertugral could even afford to dance. But there isn’t much time to celebrate as Bidvest Wits will offer the Buccaneers a stronger test in the MTN8 on Saturday. Between now and then, he has to tighten the defence that could use a leader like Lekgwathi accompanied with speed.
Orlando Pirates (0)3
Ndoro 48, 68, 76
Golden Arrows (0)1
Sibiya 61
Independent Media