It is fair to say Thembinkosi Lorch has been the darling of the Orlando Pirates supporters since he joined the Buccaneers in 2015. But in recent seasons, the 29-year-old’s star has been dimmed as injuries continue to stand in the way of his progress.
“Nyoso”, as he is affectionately known, only turned out five times for Pirates in the DStv Premiership this season, with his last appearance being in a goalless draw against SuperSport United.
This season, the skillful attacker only managed to get about 383 minutes under his belt.
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His coach, Jose Riveiro, under what sounds like strict instructions from management, decided to say little, or nothing at all about the status of Lorch’s injury and when he is expected to return to the team.
Asked on whether the team is weaker without “Nyoso”
Lorch has been linked with a move away from Pirates for quite a while, with suggestions being rife about the club’s reluctance to let go of one of their most influential players.
“I don’t speak about injured players or individual players. From the beginning of the season, it is not my role to talk about players who are not available. How can we measure that? Is there any tool to measure how much it affects us if someone is not playing for the team? I cannot answer that question,” said Riverio.
“I am so happy with the players who are happy to play, we have more than enough and I will think about the ones who did not play in preparation for the next game because we have to face Cape Town City very soon. There is going to be competition to be in the starting 11.
“Those who played against Sundowns did a fantastic job but obviously we could not get the result that we were looking for,” the Pirates coach said at the back of 2-0 loss to Sundowns on Friday evening,” said the Pirates mentor.
Playing Sundowns at the wrong time
The Sea Robbers mentor says he would have preferred to play Downs when the gap was not that significant in terms of points. The defending champions have now opened a 12-point gap between themselves and Bucs.
“I would have liked to go to Sundowns with 26, 27 or 30 points instead of 19. This game is not a game that will make a difference at the end of the season. That is why you have to play well against Sundowns then go to Cape Town and take the three points,” said Riveiro.
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“Then go to Polokwane and compete and take the three points. We have to play Chippa United at home and take three points. I would like to face these kinds of games when we are closer to Sundowns. The season is still long. This was the 14th game and there are a lot of points to play for. We are Orlando Pirates and we will continue until the end,” he added.
