Orlando Pirates stormed into the next round of the Nedbank Cup following a 2-0 victory over arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs. The scoreline is perhaps not a very accurate reflection of the tie as Chiefs also had good moments and great chances to nick the game. In fact Chiefs controlled the match for about an hour before collapsing and allowing the home side to impose themselves and get the two goals.
Pirates started strongly with Tendai Ndoro driving forward and skipping a Mulomowandau Mathoho tackle before seeing his low shot blocked by Reyaad Pieterse; Gift Motupa also had a very presentable chance that he failed to put away. But from that moment onwards Chiefs gained control of the game, seeing more of the ball and spreading themselves well across the pitch. Steve Komphela had started with a back three of Mathoho, Willard Katsande and Morgan Gould. In a rough 3-4-2-1 formation he had both his full-backs push very high up the field. This pinned Pirates back and saw Thabo Rakhale and Luvuyo Memela positioned right on top of their full-backs. The formation also allowed Chiefs to dominate possession as they had more men in the centre of the park. Kgotso Moleko, in particular, seemed to relish the freedom afforded to him by his coach as he’d position himself high and wide and looked to make intelligent runs by cutting across and darting in the inside of Thabo Matlaba.
The 3-4-2-1 setup gave Chiefs numerical advantage in the centre; there was a square shape formed by George Maluleka and Lucky Baloyi (the central midfielders) and Siphiwe Tshabalala and Bernard Parker, who were dual number 10s playing behind Camaldine Abraw. That meant Chiefs were overrunning Pirates because they were 4v2. Pirates could have remedied this problem by dropping back Motupa to help with the midfield battle – the thing with him is that he looks confused when playing as a 10 because he doesn’t know whether to act as a midfielder or a forward. What many don’t realise is that no.10 is actually a specialist position – it requires players with a good touch, quick feet and thinking as well as the ability to play on the half-turn. Motupa is not that sort of player; he is great in central midfield from where he can drop deep and collect balls off defenders and spray beauties. The feeling is that he is being misused. What further compounded the problem for the hosts was that because Chiefs were 3v1 at the back, they generally had two spare centre-backs and that encouraged Katsande to occasionally push into midfield. That meant at times Chiefs were 5v2 in the centre.
Komphela was probably satisfied with how things were going as his side were in control although couldn’t get a goal. Pirates then began the second half with zeal and vigour, going at Chiefs with pace and stretching them. Sifiso Myeni – a more natural fit at 10 – replaced Motupa and his impact was immediate as he’d play good combinations with the likes of Rakhale and Mpho Makola. Myeni is smart and his touch allows him to undertake the no.10 role well; he is great to watch between the lines. The game began to open up and Pirates got more space, looking to exploit the pockets by attacking Chiefs at pace through the middle. Komphela reacted to this by reverting to a back 4 and pushing Katsande into midfield to try and plug gaps. William Twala was introduced to provide natural width on the left. Pirates got the two goals and that led to bigger gaps which allowed them to move the ball more smoothly – they were very impressive with their interplay.
This wasn’t a classic ‘game of two halves’ in that Pirates only dominated the later stages of the second stanza. Chiefs’ formation granted them control of the ball and match, the only ill was that they didn’t get a goal. Once Pirates started playing their usual game they looked more threatening. They were fortunate with the goals: for the first, Mathoho doesn’t step up in time and as such plays an unmarked Ndoro onside; for the second Pieterse gets undone by a bounce. Either way Pirates were on the ascendency as it were.
@TLMache