Inconsistent Orlando Pirates have been backed to improve after some unconvincing results in recent matches to remain in the race with the title contenders.
The Buccaneers claimed the bragging rights as they defeated Moroka Swallows 2-0 in the original Soweto derby on Tuesday night for their fifth win of the season.
The victory has moved Bucs to sixth place on the Premiership log with 19 points from 12 matches.
Despite being seen as candidates at the beginning of the season to compete with Mamelodi Sundowns for the title, Bucs are way behind on points although the champions have played fewer matches.
Former Pirates striker, James Mothibi, is disappointed that the team failed to make full use of their highly competitive pre-season preparation in Spain to deliver consistently in the league.
The Good
"From what I have seen in the match against Swallows, the team has dropped a little bit in terms of the performance. Yes, the team is performing, or I should say they are trying their level best to perform but are not yet where they should be. My advice to the team is to take it game by game with the focus on getting three points from those games. They must get those points. It is a must for Pirates to get the results consistently," said Mothibi.
The Bad
"I don't know if the players are getting frustrated due to inconsistent results or what but for me something is missing in the team. Maybe it's because there are some matches that they didn't win which they should have won then that resulted in frustration, I don't know. If they don't get the results consistently, they must as well forget about winning the league. I maintain that the Pirates coach (Jose Riveiro) has a lot of work to do with the players in their decision-making in the last third. The movement off the ball also needs to be worked on. Our attacking players rush when they get into scoring areas. Had Swallows used their chances, we would be telling a different story now. Swallows had chances and there were a lot of positive things they did and were just unfortunate. I'm talking about individual brilliance of their players when they cut through our defensive midfielders and through the defence and things like that and we should not fool ourselves that we won 2-0 because we still have to work hard. We are not in a good position for a big team like Pirates and we need to improve a lot. What I saw from the team after they came back from Spain and what I see now are two different things but I know that we will bounce back," he said.
The Ugly
"The players are probably frustrated because they know they are not where they should be on the log because when you play for Orlando Pirates you must be at the top. Throughout the season, you must be number one, two or three and should be trailing the team at the top by no more than three points if you are not at the top. Check where they are on the log, and that's why I say maybe it's the frustration that has kicked in," the academy coach added.
"He is proving people wrong"
On Evidence Makgopa proving doubters wrong
"I wouldn't like to talk too much about the boy to save him from the pressure that he was already getting. A lot has been said about him and he is proving people wrong just like how I advised him to. He knows what he was signed for by Pirates and that is to score goals and he should focus on that and avoid listening to negative comments. At the moment, he is doing what he is at the club for and I am happy for him," concluded Mothibi.
Does Pirates still have a chance to catch Sundowns?
