Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi believes a fit-again Thembinkosi Lorch can provide the missing piece of the puzzle as Orlando Pirates continue to battle to convert draws into victories.
Lorch made a 79th-minute substitutes' return from injury and put in a bright shift at the end of Bucs' 1-1 draw against AmaZulu at Kings Park on Wednesday evening, also Bucs' talismanic creative attacker's first appearance of the season.
Lorch returned from an abductor muscle tear for his first outing in a competitive match since Bucs' 0-0 league draw against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila on June 5.
Pirates' coaches Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids will hope to give the attacker a longer run when they meet TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium on Saturday evening.
“Highly excited. You just see the quality,” Ncikazi said of Lorch's 14-minute — with added time — return to the field.
“The first assist to Deon Hotto on top, and maybe the final miss at the end, but the important thing was him getting there.
“Lorch is quality and I'm confident that if he plays like this for his first game after such a long time injured, it's all positive.
“I hope he grows from here and assists the team with what is missing the most, which is goals. We're playing good football, but maybe you need a Lorch to finish the product.”
Ncikazi said again Bucs dominated a game against AmaZulu, and again one piece was missing — scoring.
“We should have won the match based on the dominance. Maybe if there's one area I would have to blame it was that I thought after scoring in the first half we were not the same team that started the match,” the coach said.
“But in the second half it was total dominance. And when your team cannot score with such dominance, such good play, we are just the team that plays good football without the points.
Ncikazi believes Pirates’ missing piece of the puzzle can be: Lorch, Lorch, Lorch
Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi believes a fit-again Thembinkosi Lorch can provide the missing piece of the puzzle as Orlando Pirates continue to battle to convert draws into victories.
Lorch made a 79th-minute substitutes' return from injury and put in a bright shift at the end of Bucs' 1-1 draw against AmaZulu at Kings Park on Wednesday evening, also Bucs' talismanic creative attacker's first appearance of the season.
Lorch returned from an abductor muscle tear for his first outing in a competitive match since Bucs' 0-0 league draw against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila on June 5.
Pirates' coaches Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids will hope to give the attacker a longer run when they meet TS Galaxy at Orlando Stadium on Saturday evening.
“Highly excited. You just see the quality,” Ncikazi said of Lorch's 14-minute — with added time — return to the field.
“The first assist to Deon Hotto on top, and maybe the final miss at the end, but the important thing was him getting there.
“Lorch is quality and I'm confident that if he plays like this for his first game after such a long time injured, it's all positive.
“I hope he grows from here and assists the team with what is missing the most, which is goals. We're playing good football, but maybe you need a Lorch to finish the product.”
Ncikazi said again Bucs dominated a game against AmaZulu, and again one piece was missing — scoring.
“We should have won the match based on the dominance. Maybe if there's one area I would have to blame it was that I thought after scoring in the first half we were not the same team that started the match,” the coach said.
“But in the second half it was total dominance. And when your team cannot score with such dominance, such good play, we are just the team that plays good football without the points.
“In the previous matches we had not been scoring. Today we conceded a very easy goal that could have been stopped.
“But if you don't score goals you're not going to win matches. There are teams not even playing half of what we're doing but they're getting the points.”
Pirates are in seventh place on 20 points from 14 matches, and Galaxy are in 13th position (12 from 14).
PSL this weekend —
Saturday:
Chippa United v AmaZulu (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 3.30pm)
Baroka FC v Cape Town City (Peter Mokaba Stadium, 3.30pm)
Swallows FC v Marumo Gallants (Dobsonville Stadium, 3.30pm)
Orlando Pirates v TS Galaxy (Orlando Stadium, 5.30pm)
SuperSport United v Mamelodi Sundowns (Lucas Moripe Stadium, 8.15pm)
Sunday:
Royal AM v Lamontville Golden Arrows (Chatsworth Stadium, 3.30pm)
Maritzburg United v Stellenbosch FC (Harry Gwala Stadium, 5pm)
Kaizer Chiefs v Sekhukhune United (FNB Stadium, 6pm)
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