THE recent signing of Orlando Pirates striker, Evidence Makgopa, may depend on the fact that the club is trying to help him make history in South African football by becoming the third player to score against Kaizer Chiefs four times in a row.
Chiefs and Pirates will play each other in an important home game in different ways for both under the Betway Premiership on Sunday at 3 pm, at FNB Stadium, Nasrec.
Makgopa who is the favorite of Pirates fans does not usually start games this season since his coach, Abdeslam Ouaddou, does not hide that he believes in Yanela Mbuthuma.
In the Pirates’ previous match where they defeated AmaZulu FC 3-0, Mbuthuma who opened the match with a goal was removed, and Boitumelo Radiopane entered who had not played for some time due to injury.
Ouaddou was asked after the game if he was looking forward to leaving Makgopa out and he revealed that he has not been fully fit these days.
“It’s almost time for Makgopa to reach the point where he can start and finish the game as he recovers from the concussion,” said Ouaddou.
“He is our key player whether he is on the field or not, so everything we do with our strikers always depends on helping them stay healthy,” emphasized the Moroccan and French national coach.
Ouaddou’s speech painted a picture that the Pirates may have preferred to hug Makgopa with the aim of having a healthy Chiefs match.
This is not surprising because Makgopa’s record indicates that he will score a goal for Pirates against Chiefs since he has done this in three consecutive games.
Since Chiefs’ Fani Madida scored four consecutive home goals in 1992, no other player has succeeded in doing this.
Madida took it from Alfred “Russia” Jacobs who did it while playing for Pirates in 1971, this record.
From 2023, Makgopa is unlikely not to hit the net when they face Chiefs and it is expected that he will play a role this time as he will be resting well.
Apart from Makgopa, other players who have scored three consecutive goals in the Soweto Derby include Joseph “Banks” Setlhodi and Pule “Ace” Ntsoelengoe, both of Chiefs, Jerry “Legs of Thunder” Sikhosana and Dennis “Chesa Mpama” Lota who were on the books of Pirates.