Pirates coach justifies Gaba snub
South African DStv Premiership side Orlando Pirates’ coach Mandla Ncikazi says Flames striker Frank Gabadinho Mhango’s perfomance at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals does not give him a leeway to the first team.
Responding to enquiries from South African media on why Mhango was left out in the Pirates squad that beat AmaZulu 1-0 on Sunday in a Nedbank Cup tie, the coach said the South African top-flight league is bigger than Afcon.
The coach said Mhango will have to fight for a place like other strikers.
He said: “Pirates are a big team. We have got many strikers and Mhango is one of them. We have got Zakhele Lepasa [and] Tshegofatso Mabasa, who were not part of the team. We have Peprah. So, it’s a galaxy of strikers although others are injured.
“We made a choice where players have been preparing for the past week and Mhango just got back from Afcon.
“We know he is a good player. It’s not because anything is wrong with him. It’s just competition and currently, we chose to go with Peprah and Lepasa.”
Ncikazi said Mhango will be given a chance, but it will not be because of his performance at Afcon.
He said: “Mhango has to work hard just like the other players. Mapasa was not part of the team. He couldn’t make the last 20 yet he is a star player for the [South African] national team.
“So, Mhango will wait like all other players. We recognise and acknowledge his performance at Afcon. But may be the league in South Africa is bigger than Afcon.”
Football analyst Charles Nyirenda felt the coach’s reasons for sidelining Mhango were not convincing.
He said: “To say the PSL is bigger than Afcon is a big joke. Maybe he wanted to say PSL is more competitive than Afcon. But that’s even far from the truth. That’s a continental competition that pools together the best of the best. I wonder if he could have said the same if Bafana qualified for the Afcon finals.”
On Gaba’s performance at Afcon, Nyirenda said it proved that the player deserves a place in Pirates first XI.
He said: “Regardless of the competition at Pirates, Gaba proved he is one of the best strikers at the Buccaneers. If they can’t accept that, let the player go where he will get game time rather than wasting talent like that.”
