Super substitute Gaba scores for Pirates
Malawi international Frank Gabadinho Mhango on Saturday came off Orlando Pirates’ bench to score and provide an assist but his effort was not enough to save the Buccanneers from a 4-3 defeat to his former club Bidvest Wits.
The 26-year-old was introduced as a 55th minute substitute in a pulsating South Africa Premier Soccer League (PSL) encounter.
Pirates were trailing 2-1 and he made an immediate impact after being on the pitch for three minutes. He provided an assist to Musa Nyatama’s goal for the game to be two-all.
The bustling forward then notched his goal seven minutes to time when he pounced on a loose ball in the box before releasing a left-footed strike into the net.
However, this was too late to save his side from the jaws of defeat as by that time, Orlando had already conceded two more goals in the 68th and 81st minutes through Wits’ Cole Alexander and brace hero MxolisiMacuphu, respectively, as a result of defensive errors.
“It was my wish to help my team secure victory and I really feel pity that my individual contribution could not bring us the intended result. All the same, I look forward to the next game,” said Mhango, who played for 35 minutes.
So far, Mhango has two of Pirates’ eight PSL goals this season. He is among the 12 players with two goals on the scorers’ chart, which has SuperSport United’s Bradley Grobler as the leading scorer with five.
On the 16-team log-table, Pirates are eighth with eight points from six games while Wits are second with 12 points from five outings.
Pirates coach Rhulani Mokwena, whose team endured a winless run before beating Chippa United last week, told The South African that it was just unfortunate that they came out losers despite a brilliant performance last weekend.
Pirates face Cape Town City this weekend.
