Relebohile Mofokeng of Orlando Pirates takes on the TS Galaxy defence at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday. Photo: BackpagePix
IF there is one thing that most professional coaches frown upon, it is commenting about the performances of any individual player in their squads – and Orlando Pirates’ Jose Riveiro is proving to be no different... well, at least this time around.
Riveiro was on Tuesday night once again at the receiving end of questions regarding his starlet, Relebohile Mofokeng.
That was after the 20-year-old scored a screamer to hand the Buccaneers a 2-0 win over struggling TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium.
The first goal for Riveiro’s side was netted by another young talent, Thalente Mbatha.
The weight of Mofokeng’s goal was not only about the fact that it sealed Pirates’ sixth league victory of the season, but also how it was scored.
The youngster won the ball from outside the box and had to find some balance while making a 360-degree turn, before whacking the ball to tuck away a spectacular one in the top corner, leaving Galaxy keeper Eliezer Ira Tape wandering.
“He’s contributing a lot. It’s a collective effort, like many of our players (though). We have plenty of talent in every position. It is nice to see (them) playing together and working together,” Riveiro said as he tried to shield Mofokeng from being even more in the spotlight.
“It is a luxury for me as a coach to have this kind of arsenal. You look at the names tonight, (and you would notice that) we were missing some of our regular players.
“But the ones who were given the opportunity, they were showing accountability.
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— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) October 30, 2024
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🏟 Mbombela Stadium
🗓️ 29 October 2024
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“They want to show that they are there for the club. They want to show that they are committed to the objective that we were looking (working on) for, that we came here for three points.
“That (three points) is the most important thing during this marathon of fixtures.”
Pirates stretched their lead to 18 points before Mamelodi Sundowns had a chance to add to their 12 in last night’s clash against Cape Town City.
The TS Galaxy game was not without its fair share of drama, though, with refereeing calls also leaving something for the headlines.
At the stroke of halftime, the hosts made some furious appeals for a penalty when Nkosikhona Radebe thought he was fouled in the box, but the referee waved play on.
Another moment was when Galaxy were reduced to 10 men in stoppage time after Kamogelo Sebelebele was sent off after picking up his second booking for simulation, as he tried his luck for a penalty.
For Ramovic and the Galaxy side, things are not showing promise of getting any better.
“Look, now we have three away games in the league and one cup game at home. We have to start collecting the points, and the way things are, I don’t see that happening,” said Ramovic.
The look from Ramovic’s chair, though, is way different from most, who could be seeing a struggling side.
“No, I don’t agree (with the opinion that Galaxy are looking like a shadow of what they were last season). We’ve played seven away games out of eight. Which team has this? Which team in our league plays seven away games out of eight? Which one?
“Even last season, we were not so good in away games as we collected two wins and three draws,” Ramovic exclaimed.
“It was already not easy, and then again, you sell half of your team. You have to rebuild again (in order) to see the same Galaxy as last season.
“It is not the same team, but we will get to the stage where we start collecting the points.”