Mngqithi on what sets Orlando Pirates apart from other PSL teams

“I think what is more fascinating with this Pirates team which surprises a lot of people is that they are just efficient," said Mngqithi.


Golden Arrows head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has identified what sets Orlando Pirates apart from the other teams in the Premier Soccer League.

This comes after the Buccaneers won their third trophy of the season after defeating Carling All Stars in the Carling Black Label Cup final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban last weekend.

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Mngqithi, who led the All-Stars team alongside Champion Coach Bonginkosi Chonco and assistant coach Vela Khumalo, says what differentiate Pirates from the other teams, is their ability to maximise their moments in the game.

“I think what is more fascinating with this Pirates team which surprises a lot of people is that they are just efficient. And sometimes that dries up because when you look at the excuses sometimes, you say ‘they don’t create as many chances and they rely on the mistakes of the opponents’, but they are able to punish most of those mistakes this season which in the past they would miss a lot maybe because they don’t create as many chances,” said Mngqithi.

“This season I think the inclusion of players like Moremi, Appollis has really refined their attacking play, and we know what they are capable of.”

‘Teams will sit back’

Mngqithi believes Pirates will find it harder to win games in the second half of the season because teams will sit back and try to catch them on the counter attack.

“However, that efficiency, sometimes if it dries up, you must rely on how much creativity, how much do you really force the opponents to make mistakes because it is a different story to play on transition and it is a different story when you have to break down the low blocks.

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“I can guarantee from what they have done in the first half of the season, a lot of teams are going to sit back in the second half and when they sit back it leads to a lot of questions. At the moment, I think they have created a lot of goals on transition,” concluded Mngqithi.