As reported by KickOff.com, Orlando Pirates will unveil Khethowakhe Masuku and Patrick Phungwayo as new signings before the end of the week, while Bongani Ndulula is set to leave for Cape Town. 

Midfielder Masuku has not seen much game-time at Black Leopards since signing a pre-contract with Pirates, while Bidvest Wits defender Phungwayo has evaded all questions about his move to Bucs. 
 
Pirates are racing against time to make the announcement about the duo and two other new signings so that fans will get the opportunity to vote for the players ahead of the Carling Black Label Cup tournament on July 28 at Soccer City.
 
Meanwhile, Pirates are likely to sell striker Bongani Ndulula to Ajax Cape Town.
 
Ajax have already made a proposal to Pirates to buy the player for next season. 

Orlando Pirates have promised not to shatter the hopes of their legion of supporters in their League title-deciding match against Golden Arrows on Saturday at Moses Mabhida Stadium.   

With just two points separating the Bucs and second placed Moroka Swallows (who will be in action against Maritzburg United at Harry Gwala Stadium), the defending champions have their own destiny in their hands.
 
A clear victory over Arrows will see Pirates clinching their fourth League title in the modern era of the PSL. A win will also hand them the right to have another crack at the African Champions League trophy next year.
 
Pirates spokesperson Mickey Modisane is confident the team will successfully complete the defence of their title against Arrows.

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“Our fans will not be disappointed,” Modisane says in a chat with KickOff.com.
 
“Durban is a home away from home and fans should come in their numbers to see us romping to victory. We are aware that there are a lot of high expectations but the supporters will not be disappointed,” Modisane says.
 
“The mood is very high, all the players are fully focused and have been showing good signs during training,” adds the Pirates spokesperson.
 
He dispelled fears that the Bucs would be affected by the sudden departure of Portuguese winger Louis Boa Morte, who was released from the club by management.
 
“These things happen in football, it is part of the game. It has not affected the preparations of the team in any way,” said the Bucs spokesperson.- Farirayi Kahwemba

By Rodney Reiners

Daine Klate must, somehow or other, be related to Lady Luck.

How else does one explain the remarkable feat the Orlando Pirates winger is on the cusp of achieving, if the Soweto side win the Premier Soccer League (PSL) title on Saturday.

If Pirates do take the championship for the second successive season, it would mean that Klate will become the very first footballer to win a title in the SA top-flight five times in succession. Before Pirates, he was in the SuperSport United squad that won the title for three successive seasons.

In addition, if Klate gets his fifth league winners’ medal, he will join an illustrious band of players who have already done so, which includes Ace Ntsoelengoe, Andre Arendse and David Kannemeyer (this trio, however, did not win their titles consecutively as Klate has done).

It’s a two-horse race going into the final day, with log leaders and defending champions Pirates on 55 points and second-placed Moroka Swallows on 53, with one game to play.

Both title-challengers are away from home on Saturday – the Buccaneers taking on Golden Arrows in Durban and Swallows facing Maritzburg United in Maritzburg.

“Five winners’ medals would be great,” Klate said on Pirates’ website. “I am an ambitious individual and I want to win all the time.

“Over and above the objectives I would like to achieve as an individual, the team goal is the main target as this is a team sport.”

But if the 27-year-old Port Elizabeth-born footballer is to achieve this personal slice of history, his Pirates team first has to negotiate a tough fixture against Arrows.

Arrows coach Muhsin Ertugral is adamant that his men will not just lie down and play dead.

They are determined to make the Buccaneers earn the title.

The Durban team was thrashed 4-1 by Ajax Cape Town over the weekend, but Ertugral wasn’t too concerned about it.

“Don’t worry about that result and performance,” said Ertugral. “We rested many of our regular players, like Collins Mbesuma, Clifford Ngobeni and Elrio van Heerden, for the match against Ajax. These top players will all be back for Pirates. We won’t be giving the title to them, that’s for sure.”

Meanwhile, Ajax are still in with a chance of snatching a place in the top eight of the PSL standings.

Currently ninth on the log (40 points), the Cape side is in a tight race with Bloemfontein Celtic (7th, 41 points) and AmaZulu (8th, 40 points).

The good news for Ajax, ahead of their last fixture against Black Leopards in Polokwane on Saturday, is that they come off that fantastic 4-1 victory over Arrows.

In that match over the weekend, coach Maarten Stekelenburg gave a first start to the emerging Toriq Losper, and the young midfielder turned in a competent, mature performance.

He was composed throughout, kept shape well, and hardly gave the ball away. He certainly looks a decent prospect for the future.

Celtic’s last match is against SuperSport United, while AmaZulu face Kaizer Chiefs.

This week’s PSL fixtures

Tomorrow: Cosmos v Black Leopards

Saturday (all at 3pm): Kaizer Chiefs v AmaZulu; Mamelodi Sundowns v Free State Stars; Santos v Jomo Cosmos (Athlone Stadium); Black Leopards v Ajax Cape Town; Golden Arrows v Orlando Pirates; Platinum Stars v Bidvest Wits; Bloemfontein Celtic v SuperSport United; Maritzburg United v Moroka Swallows

I have been an Orlando Pirates player for many years and I have had my fair share of ups and downs. As we are about to play our two most crucial games of the season, a lot of things cross my mind.

This is further emphasised by the people I meet in the streets. Wherever I go the questions are all the same: “Lucky, do you guys feel nervous now that you have only two matches to play or do you think you can defend the title?”

Well, my answer to all these questions is very simple. For us Orlando Pirates players, pressure is the order of the day….even when we were on position seven at some point in the season, we still had pressure.

I personally feel there is nothing wrong with pressure; it’s how you deal with it that counts. We have worked hard this whole season to be where we are today and we don’t intend to relax any time soon.

These two games are very important for us hence we are treating both encounters like cup finals. The inconsistency in the leagues all over the world is a result of the overall improvement of teams. The days of big club and small club are long gone; every team must work hard to attain success, there is no divine right or favour for any club.

From the beginning of the week our preparations have been that of intensifying our workload to be at our best for the next game, but equally as important has been the conditioning of our mental state. Psychology plays a big role when it comes to games like these.

Ask any sports man and he will tell you that an unsettled mind leads to an unsettled performance. The reason the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are able to dish out that level of football week in and week out, is due to their state of mind, hence they hardly get yellow or red carded. Their minds are tuned into what they need to achieve – everything else is secondary.

This is what we have been working on ourselves. We cannot allow ourselves to be drawn into the debate on where the trophy will go, because that will only unsettle us. Our initial focus is to collect three points against Celtic and three more points away to Arrows and nothing more.

I would like to assure the Ghost that we are determined to win this league and we will do all we can to win it but for now we are focussing on the SIX POINTS.

So far things have worked for us and we are thankful to management, for the support and commitment they have shown to the team.

The atmosphere in the team is great and I can promise everyone that on Saturday afternoon, football lovers will see a different a team, determined to win this match.

We have in total 180 minutes to play for our lives… we have to win this match first and think about the next match in Durban against Golden Arrows.

Those are two crucial matches for us and we will do our best to win both of them. To our fans, please let us behave ourselves in the stadium and rally behind the team for the duration of the match.

I will pause here for today.

Lucky ‘Phinda Mzala’ Lekgwathi.

Jersey #14

Orlando Pirates winger Tlou Segolela has admitted that he has been blowing hot and cold this season.   

Sox was speaking to other soccer publication – and he says there is room for improvement in his game.
 
“I can say my problem was because I got a knee injury at the start of the season. I started well, but I was out between September and October and I think that’s the real reason I haven’t been consistent this season. It is something that I’m aware of and I’m working on it,” Segolela admits.
 
“I think to be in top form you must play regularly and since the injury I have struggled, because since then I started some games and came on as a substitute in some of them. I think I will be back to my best once I can play more games in a row. It is disappointing for me as well that I’m blowing hot and cold, but I’m not relaxing. I’m always working hard to make sure I’m in top form all the time,” he says.
 
Segolela feels his major flaw is the final pass, but Bucs coach Augusto Palacios has put together a training programme to assist the midfielder improve on it.
 
“I am disappointed with my final pass, but I know with time I will get it right. I just need to concentrate more on it so I can perfect it… Augusto actually spoke to me about it and he prepared a training programme for me.
 
“Basically, I go through the cones just like I would dribble around players and when I reach the box I target one of the cones around so the whole idea is to help me not to rush things. I must look at what’s happening around the box so I can pick out my teammates with a pass. I do the training on a regular basis and I hope for some improvement soon,” he adds-kickoff.com

SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt says his team “totally dominated” Orlando Pirates on Tuesday, but the referee spoilt it for them. 

Bucs won 2-1 on the night, but Hunt is adamant his charges didn’t deserve to lose had it not been for the referee Robert Sithole, who was also the man in charge when the two sides met in the first round when Pirates won 3-0.

“Shambolic display and I don’t have to tell you by who … it is an absolute disgrace. It is amazing that we got the same officials as we did in the first round. We should have had two penalties in the first round. It baffles me; I thought we moved on from this,” Hunt fumes.

“There was only one team in the game and that was us, but there will always be someone who will spoil it for us. It is worse than playing in the [CAF] Champions League. 

“Benni should have been sent off in the first half when he went over the ball on Morgan [Gould] but nothing happened. He got away with murder.”

SuperSport midfielder Edwin Gyimah was later sent off after a coming together with Andile Jali, which saw the Ghanaian direct a slap toward his opponent, but Hunt has defended the player’s action saying his players were “despondent” because of the way the referee handled the match.

“What do you expect the players to do? Eventually something is gonna happen and we suffered at the end of the day. But we were magnificent and the much better side. We totally dominated,” Hunt insists.

Courtesy of: http://www.kickoff.com

BY Obakeng Rachwene

Pirates on top of log

A 92nd minute goal from second half substitute Rudolph Bester took Orlando Pirates to the top of the League table in a dramatic 2-1 win over Jomo Cosmos at Orlando Stadium on Monday night.

An early goal from Bongani Ndulula was cancelled out by Siyabonga Nhlapo before Bester scored a late winner with virtually the last touch of the ball.

It was the perfect start for the home side as Ndulula gave them the lead after only four minutes.

The Buccaneers striker concluded a swift passing movement with a clinical finish from six-yards out to give Pirates the early ascendancy, 1-0.

Shell-shocked by the home side’s blistering start, Cosmos struggled to get hold of the ball early on and could only watch as Pirates stroked the ball around the park with confidence and precision.

In the 24th minute Cosmos’ hard-work paid off as they found a superb equaliser through the boot of Siyabonga Nhlapo.

The Cosmos man picked up the ball in space 30-yards out from goal and unleashed a thunderbolt which found the top left-hand corner of the goal, 1-1.

After surrendering their lead, Pirates picked up the pace of the game and began dictating the flow once more.

Still, they struggled to break down a resolute Cosmos defence and had to resort to shooting from long range.

The closest the Buccaneers came, however, to scoring a second in the first-half came a minute before the halftime break when Thabo Matlaba brought the best out of Avril Phali.

Matlaba let loose from 25-yards out, but Phali was quick to react making a good save to deny the Pirates man.

The second 45 minute continued where the first left off and Oupa Manyisa was the first to try his luck form distance, but much like his compatriots his 30-yard shot in the 66th minute sailed over the crossbar.

Six minutes later and Thulasizwe Mbuyane should have given Pirates the lead for the second time, but he squandered his chance heading over from close range after meeting a right-wing cross.

The Buccaneers captain squandered another golden opportunity to take the lead in the 80th minute when Lucky Lekgwathi fired wide from six-yards out after latching onto the end of a good passing movement.

Pirates continued to throw men forward and it looked like they were destined to share the spoils with Cosmos, but a late, late strike from substitute Rudolph Bester, from 25-yards out, found the top right-hand corner of the net, 2-1.

The result takes the Buccaneers to the summit of the League, at least until Black Leopards host Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday night.

For Cosmos, they remain rooted to the bottom of the table.