Five reasons why Orlando Pirates were hammered by Sundowns

The Orlando Pirates’ 4-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns this past weekend served as a tough wake-up call. The Buccaneers knew that a win would put them three points closer with one game remaining, as they were only six points behind the Brazilians going into the contest. Unfortunately for Jose Riveiro’s team, Sundowns won all three points at Loftus Versfeld because they were too powerful.

The Orlando Pirates trail Sundowns by nine points.

Since this was the third league loss for the Orlando Pirates against Sundowns, we’ll look at five reasons why they struggled in this game:

Injury to Thabiso Sesane

This season, Sesane has been the Pirates’ best defender. The 24-year-old had been essential to the defense, especially with Olisa Ndah and Thapelo Xoki sidelined due to injuries. But because of his ailment, Xoki had to substitute against Sundowns, and Lucas Ribeiro took advantage of him. Due to his limited playing time, the Bucs’ captain was ill-prepared for such a crucial game.

Insufficient Quality Left-Back: Orlando Pirates selected Paseko Mako over Innocent Maela for the left-back position, while Sundowns had Aubrey Modiba. Normally a left-back, Deon Hotto was put in charge of attacking on the wings. Regretfully, Thapelo Morena’s overlapping runs were difficult for Mako to stop.

Weak Midfield

In the Pirates’ midfield, Kabelo Dlamini seemed lost next to Makhehleni Makhaula. Teboho Mokoena advanced late in the game and scored an incredible goal to make it 4-1, demonstrating Sundowns’ dominance in this part of the field.

Tshegofatso Mabasa was present, but the Buccaneers’ bench was mediocre and lacked impact players. Mabasa entered the game in the second half but did not have a big influence. Monnapule Saleng, a winger who hadn’t played in two months, was one of the players who could have altered the outcome if chosen.

Bad Choice

The Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns seemed to be evenly matched during the season. Nevertheless, Sundowns was the better team and went through a downturn under Manqoba Mngqithi. Sundowns recovered when Mngqithi was fired, and they have since won every league game. Despite dominating the league, the Buccaneers’ performances lacked coherence, frequently depending on individual skill to win games.

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