‘He made history’: how Thabiso Lebitso became Pirates’ unlikely derby hero

Thabiso Lebitso was an unlikely figure to be on the field in Orlando Pirates’ Soweto derby against Kaizer Chiefs in front of a packed FNB Stadium on Saturday, let alone a goalscoring hero of a 3-2 DStv Premiership victory to the Buccaneers.

And what a goal. A 32-year-old right wingback whose signing from Chippa United in the January transfer window raised eyebrows smacked a drive from range that screamed into the top-left corner for a strike far bigger names and more experienced derby campaigners on either side would have salivated over. That's some story.

The strike came in the 58th minute as Lebitso, making his first start at Bucs — in a derby, in front of 94,000 people and millions on TV — and having recovered from a nervy start in the opening half, became the second Bucs player to equalise in response to an Ashley du Preez brace (sixth and 44th) after Monnapule Saleng in the 24th.

Saleng, a lover of derbies, also smacked the 68th-minute winner.

Lebitso had been signed as cover for Pirates’ right-back position, where injuries to Thabiso Monyane and Bandile Shandu saw midfielder Fortune Makaringe being deployed there late last year. Someone at Bucs had spotted qualities in a player who had flown under the national radar, scoring two goals in his 97 league and cup appearances in four and a half seasons at Chippa after signing for the Eastern Cape club from amateur Tshwane University of Technology FC in January 2020.

A poor performance from Bucs in their 0-0 midweek DStv Premiership home draw against last-placed Cape Town Spurs saw coach Jose Riveiro shake up his starting line-up for the derby, notably at fullback. Deon Hotto came in on the left for Innocent Maela and Lebitso, who had made two substitutes’ appearances since being signed from Chippa on January 25, was a shock replacement for Monyane on the right.

“I think he struggled a bit in the first 10, 15 minutes, but it’s normal — this scenario is not easy for the boys. It was his first appearance in the starting XI and the coach is putting him into a derby,” Riveiro said.

“But we trust him 100%, we knew [the kind of] contribution [he could make]. Obviously we didn’t know about the goal [he would produce], but we knew he has the capacity to do it, because he can; it’s not by chance.

“We were looking for something different on the right side today with Monnapule and with him, and something different on the left with the role we gave to Deon. And I think it worked quite well. They were really disciplined.

“In the case of Thabiso, little by little he came into the game. He’s a player who I think today got his confidence in the duels, in the 50/50s. He was really playing with a lot of determination and bit by bit he got the confidence that he’s finally part of this [Pirates team] and part of a derby, and he made some history today with that goal.”

It was an occasion, playing in front of a crowd Lebitso had never come close to being asked to entertain, where many players might have wilted. The wingback, after his early defensive shudders, rose to it.

Saleng, a shadow this campaign of the performer who won Premiership Players' Player of the Season in 2022-23, also did.

Riveiro believes the experience of playing and winning three cup finals in his two seasons at the Buccaneers has helped form players with big-match temperaments in his squad.

Luckily for us we have players who want to be on the ball — most of them live on the ball. ‘Rele’ [Relebohile Mofokeng], ‘Tito’ [Patrick Maswanganyi] are players who, if they are not permanently in contact with the ball, will drop 20m just to get a touch — they never hide themselves.

—  Jose Riveiro, Pirates coach

“They are all good players, but on a day like today you have to go there and ask for the ball. That for me is what makes the difference in the big games. I’m not saying it’s our case or we have players like that, but there are players who in the big games don’t want to see the ball — when the defender shifts to the right, they go right too,” the coach said.

“Luckily for us, we have players who want to be on the ball — most of them live on the ball. ‘Rele’ [Relebohile Mofokeng], ‘Tito’ [Patrick Maswanganyi] are players who, if they are not permanently in contact with the ball, will drop 20m just to get a touch — they never hide themselves.”

Bucs beat Chiefs 1-0 in November. Even with a league double over Chiefs — Pirates' second of the PSL era — and third trophy in two seasons, clinching the MTN8 to add to last campaign’s MTN8 and Nedbank Cup, it will take some run of consistency to attain the goal they set out for at the start of the season. That target was running six-time successive Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns far closer than the 16 points Bucs were runners-up by in 2022-24.

Pirates went to second place by beating Chiefs, and are now 13 points behind Downs. The Brazilians have three games in hand, but a season in which the inaugural African Football League champions are competing, and advancing far, in six competitions, two of which are continental, could take its toll on their results on some stage.

A late charge by Bucs and Sundowns dropping some points might still see Riveiro’s side run Bucs close in the league, which would make for a satisfying season for the Spaniard and his charges.