AS Orlando Pirates’ chances of winning the Betway Premiership title are in jeopardy, the pressure to score goals is increasing on the strikers of this Soweto team.
According to the statistics, Zimnyama have scored 34 goals in 21 league games, which means they are three behind compared to what their biggest rivals in the title race, Mamelodi Sundowns, have scored.
However, the strikers of this team are not seen in the list of the top five players with goals in the league this season. Instead, there is a midfielder, Patrick Maswanganyi, who is in fifth place with six goals.
The two strikers usually used by this team, Evidence Makgopa and Yanela Mbuthuma, are still behind. Another striker who is still on the books at Pirates, Boitumelo Radiopane is being asked about the jersey.
Makgopa has five goals in 18 league games, while Mbuthuma has scored four in 15 games.
Magebhula have taken a decision that surprised many in the January transfer window, loaning one of their experienced strikers, Tshegofatso Mabasa to Stellenbosch FC. The player left the net once in five league games, while for the Stellies he has one in three games.
Last season, Mabasa scored seven goals in 25 league games. In the previous one, he won the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot award for being the top goalscorer.
That season he finished with 16 goals in 26 games. He scored six for Moroka Swallows (to whom he was on loan) in 13 games, while the other 10 he got in 13 games while at Pirates.
The Blacks are under pressure as they have dropped to second place in the Premiership log with 48 points from 21 games. They are two behind Sundowns who have played in the same number of matches.
This year the Brazilians have increased the level of hitting the net, led by striker Iqraam Rayners who has scored 10 goals in 17 games.
The Mamelodi team strengthened their front in the January window, signing Colombian striker, Bryan Leon, who has scored four goals in eight league games.
The players bought by Pirates in January to assist in scoring and scoring goals, Andre de Jong and Daniel Msendami, have not made a difference in the league games.
Although Pirates has players from the midfield and sides who have scored goals including Maswanganyi, Relebohile Mofokeng, Oswin Appollis, Tshepang Moremi but they need their strikers to be sharp in the remaining games to have a chance to move Sundowns to the top.
Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has complained to himself about the number of opportunities wasted by his team, especially in games where they ended up losing points.
It will be clear in the next match of the league where Pirates will play against TS Galaxy at Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, on Sunday at 3.30 pm whether the strikers of this team will increase their level or they will rely on others to save them.