Orlando Pirates may have to look at drastic measures when it comes to solving the club's goalscoring problems, according to coach Mandla Ncikazi.
In a search for solutions to their striking woes, the Buccaneers could be forced to look at the youthful Boitumelo Radiopane to shoulder the responsibility of getting goals for the Soweto giants at the tender age of 19!
The Buccaneers have scored just 12 goals in 12 matches in all competitions this season, which equates to an average of one goal per match, which for a club of their stature, is largely worrying.
The load for goals has been split equally, with five players in Tshegofatso Mabasa, Happy Jele, Linda Mntambo, Kabelo Dlamini and Goodman Mosele all scoring two goals apiece, while Deon Hotto and Abel Mabaso have chipped in.
Mabasa the only Pirates striker with goals to his name with Gabadinho Mhango, Terrence Dzuvakamanja, Kwame Peprah all firing blanks, while Zakhele Lepasa is working his way back from injury.
However, with Mabasa low on confidence after being hauled off for the national team, Jele injured and Mosele working his way back to the starting XI, Ncikazi has revealed that Pirates could turn to their reserve team striker, who was crowned the DStv Diski Challenge joint Golden Boot winner, as well as the competition's Player of the Season.
"As a coach you must think on your feet, complaining is not going to help you. You just need to think confidence and find solutions on the available players. If it means we go for [Boitumelo] Radiopane who is doing well at our MDC, we'll do that. [Kwame] Peprah is still adapting. The South African game needs adaptation. Anyone that has been playing outside the PSL needs some time. I hope his adaptation becomes soon," Ncikazi told the media.
"[Tshegofatso] Mabasa, I felt that maybe the circumstances that happened previously did affect his confidence as he is a confidence player. We have a responsibility to bring his confidence up and I am hoping that it happens soon.
"This is what we have, and we have to live with that. If we can't score through the strikers, we have to find goals somehow. Now [Happy] Jele is injured for set plays where we were useful. For us, is to find solutions, create numerical advantage in attack and anyone who gets there should score and then we'll be a good team. When you rely on certain individuals to score, then it becomes a problem when those people are not there, that is what we are trying to preach in our team currently."
