RUSTENBURG - This was poor – three shots on target for hosts Platinum Stars and only attempt at goal for the mighty Orlando Pirates, and one of their fans was caught on camera yawning.
The positives were that Dikwena have stopped the rot and are improving from their worst possible start yet as they look to claw their way out of the relegation quagmire. From that point of view, to hold the Buccaneers to a goalless draw is a bit of a victory.
But Pirates’ Absa Premiership title hopes are slowly slipping away as they failed to win in their sixth successive match in all competitions.
Irvin Khoza, the club chairman, did not take the opportunity to find a permanent coach to replace Muhsin Ertugral, who quit on live TV back in November following a 6-1 thrashing by SuperSport United in Nelspruit. Augusto Palacios has been the man in the charge in the interim and returned in the same caretaker role for the second half of the season.
Khoza recently revealed that he’d narrowed potential candidates down to just six hopefuls for the job, and might be tempted to accelerate that search after Wednesday night’s drab draw away in Rustenburg. Both teams were operating at a pedestrian pace and that statistics were there to prove it.
Perhaps Pirates were discouraged after losing midfielder Issa Sarr in the first half through injury, with Abbubaker Mobara coming in his place. The Buccaneers were also forced into another substitution later in the second half when goalkeeper Brighton Mhlongo made way for Jackson Mabokgwane. Mhlongo hurt his ankle after Gerald Phiri fell on him shortly after a goalmouth melee.
That was about as much action as the fans got to see at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, and the Buccaneers are running out of time in the title chase. Their rivals to the championship in SuperSport United, Bidvest Wits, dark horse Cape Town City, Kaizer Chiefs and defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns all won their matches with the Premier League returning to action.
This was a missed opportunity for Pirates, who will face Sundowns at Loftus Stadium on Saturday afternoon. A defeat there and it’s likely that the title hopes will go up in smoke.
Pirates are also hoping to celebrate their 80 years anniversary with some silverware, but the kind of performance on display on Wednesday night really does not warrant any trophy in the cabinet this season. Of course the change in the technical team might tilt the scale in their favour.