JOHANNESBURG - After a hamstring injury that kept him on the sidelines for at least two months, Thabo Rakhale is back to pull the strings in midfield.
The Orlando Pirates attacking midfielder was a live wire for the Buccaneers in their 2-1 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals on Saturday night, an encounter that went all the way to extra time, with Pirates sealing victory when Rakhale set-up striker Thamsanqa Gabuza to head home the winning goal.
This was Rakhale’s first game under Kjell Jonevret, who was appointed Pirates coach on 20 February when the player was still nursing a serious injury.
The 27-year-old fought his way back in time to try and dazzle the opposition and help the Buccaneers salvage what has otherwise been an awful season, which could still see them finish outside the top eight teams for the first time in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) era.
Also making our Team of the Week is goalkeeper Reyaad Pieterse, whose heroics at the weekend helped SuperSport United edge “Cup kings” Kaizer Chiefs to progress to the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.
Pieterse stopped Bernard Parker’s penalty kick during extra time when the score was tied at 1-1. Had Parker converted, the defending champions would have most likely crashed out, but SuperSport won the match 5-3 during the shoot-out from the penalty spot.
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