No Oupa Manyisa. No Happy Jele. No Siyabonga Sangweni.
And goalkeeper Felipe Ovono is still without a reserve.
On the face of it, darkness has descended upon Orlando Pirates and the man carrying the matches has dropped it in the tunnel.
The Buccaneers go into their semifinal, first leg Caf Confederation Cup clash against champions Al Ahly with just about all the odds heavily stacked against them.
As if the unavailability of those three key players was not bad enough, there is also the small matter of Bucs not having won a match in a month.
It wouldn’t all be so bad were the opposition some ordinary outfit with no pedigree. But standing in the Buccaneers’ way to their maiden final appearance in the continent’s second tier club competition is Africa’s foremost club – the Red Devils of Cairo, winners of nine Champions Cup/ League titles and defending champions of this very cup.
Relegated to the Confederation Cup once again, Ahly have just one more chance to win silverware in a year that saw them play second fiddle to bitter rivals Zamalek in their domestic league. The White Knights won the championship and on Tuesday beat Ahly 2-0 to complete the double by capturing the Egypt Cup.
To say Ahly are hurt will be understating the case a wee bit. And Pirates can expect a backlash from a team eager to get even with a Zamalek side who are also in the Confederation Cup semi-final. They play Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel in the other semi.
Pirates coach Eric Tinkler has said he believes Zamalek are a much stronger side than Ahly following his team’s two defeats to the Egyptian champions in the group stage. Granted Zamalek’s double success in Egypt vindicates his statement. But he will have to prove this is the case by leading Pirates to victory early this evening (6pm) at Orlando Stadium.
How he does that without his talismanic captain and joint-leading scorer in the competition, Manyisa remains to be seen. The player nicknamed “Ace” suffered an ankle fracture that is likely to keep him out of action for a long time during the Absa Premiership clash with Polokwane City on Wednesday.
Tinkler has a big squad not to worry about a replacement for Manyisa, the likes of Thandani Ntshumayelo and Issa Sarr experienced enough and capable of dictating play for the Buccaneers. Young Menzi Masuku replaced Manyisa in Polokwane and could be used once again with Lehlohonolo Masalesa also coming into the reckoning.
In defence, the suspension of rightback Happy Jele and central defender Siyabonga Sangweni means Ayanda Gcaba could get a run alongside Rooi Mahamutsa in the heart of defence with Thabo Matlaba and Patrick Phungwayo used as fullbacks.
Yet Tinkler might be wary of going this route after Zamalek exploited the two fullbacks’ penchant for overlapping in their 4-1 hammering of the Buccaneers in the final group match.
Irrespective of the tactics Tinkler employs, the bottom line is that Pirates need to beat Al Ahly and do so without conceding a goal if they are to give themselves a fighting chance for next week’s second leg in Suez.
How they do that without three key players remains to be seen. - Saturday Star