Unsettled Orlando Pirates winger Meshack Maphangule has surprisingly made the trip to Venda for the club's Nedbank Cup Round of 32 fixture this evening. He joined the Buccaneers at the start of season as a free agent from Black Leopards, who were keen to extend his contract following promotion to the Premier League after five years in the NFD.
To date, Maphangule has made just two starts for Pirates – all of which came in the early stages of the CAF Champions League.
He's been pretty much a fringe player so far and is understood to be keen on a move elsewhere in search of regular game time, even if it's a loan spell this month.
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The Siya crew has learnt that Maphangule has travelled to Venda for the cup tie at 6pm at the Thohoyandou Stadium, where he will face his old teammates – now coached by Dylan Kerr.
Clubs often use the cup competitions to rotate their squads and it won't be much different for Pirates coach Micho Sredojevic. Maphangule could be in line for a rare appearance, though Leopards have been in impressive form since Kerr took over and they have the intimidating Thohoyandou home venue as an added advantage.