There’s still ample room for improvement, but Zakhele Lepasa is starting to look like the real deal for Orlando Pirates this season.
Lepasa opened the scoring gates as Pirates beat Cape Town City 2-0 in the DStv Premiership on a chilly Tuesday night in Orlando, while Man of the Match Patrick Maswanganyi scored the second goal with 15 minutes left to play.
It’s been a relatively good start for Lepasa to the season that he’s now scored nine goals across all competition – three goals apiece in the league, MTN8 and Caf Champions League.
His fine form doesn’t only augur well for coach Jose Riveiro whose team will travel to Stellenbosch – the only side that have beaten them this season – for the first leg of the MTN8 semi-final on Sunday.
But it’s also a welcomed feat for Bafana Bafana’s coach Hugo Broos who’ll name his 23-man final squad for their international friendlies this month against Namibia and DR Congo on Wednesday afternoon.
Since their first meeting seven years ago, Pirates and City have been involved in some fierce battles, but the Bucs have had the superior hand as they now boast four wins to the Citizens’ two in the last 10 meetings.
Granted that fourth win came after today’s result, but the odds favoured them anyway having won their last two matches – albeit in the Caf Champions League.
For City, though, the tough times continue to overwhelm them as they’ve now lost their last four matches in all competitions – the league and MTN8 – to pile the pressure on coach Eric Tinkler.
But knowing what was at stake, Tinkler made four changes to the team that lost to Sekhukhune United, including dropping the blunt Khanyisa Mayo.
The last season’s joint top goal scorer in the league (with 12 goals) has found the going tough this season, having failed to get the monkey off his back in five matches since the start.
His Pirates counterpart Lepasa has had different fortunes this season, though, and is finally looking like a No 9 – the jersey number he got when he returned on loan from SuperSport United.
And having been part of the long-list of players that were retained from the starting line-up that beat Djabal Club 3-0 last Friday, Lepasa scored his fourth goals in three matches.
The Pirates’ No 9 isn’t only using the jersey as motivation but as a timeline of when to score – having cleanly given the Buccaneers the lead in the ninth minute.
On the D-Line, Lepasa managed to beat his marker Keanu Cupido for possession before turning, unmarked, to unleash a thunderbolt that rattled the roof of Darren Keet’s net.
Of course, Lepasa is far off from being well-oiled, having continued to miss chances that seemed easier to score – like when he miskicked the loose ball before his second attempt was blocked by Cupido.
He was also unfortunate not to have extended Pirates lead early in the second half as he tried to stretch his leg and latched home a weighted pass as Keet made a timely save.
After a host of changes for both sides early in the second half, Pirates took the foot off the pedal – as they only had that Lepasa close-range effort to write home about.
The visitors, who had made all five substitutions by the 65th minute, were more comfortable as a result Sipho Chaine tipped Mayo’s deflected shot over the crossbar after the striker’s cameo.
But Pirates doubled their tally as Maswanganyi slided home Deon Hotto’s cutback in a goal that was confirmed by the linesman having Keet made a last-minute fruitless attempt to save the from crossing his line.
And that’s how things ended as Lepasa's fine form continued in front of goal while the Citizens were subjected to their fourth successive loss across all competitions.
IOL Sport