Bafana Bafana COSAFA Cup coach Morena Ramoreboli has showered praise on an out-of-favour Orlando Pirates striker after the national team came from a goal down to beat Eswatini 2-1.
On Tuesday night, the Pirates hitman delivered a Man of the Match performance against Eswatini at the Princess Magogo Stadium in KwaMashu in Durban.
Ramoreboli was understandably appreciative as Bafana appeared to be heading for defeat until his players combined well to grab all three points.
Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa netted a brace to seal the deal for Bafana. The win saw Bafana finish at the summit of Group A with seven points and book a place in the semi-finals of the 2023 COSAFA Cup.
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Mabasa’s display impressed Morena Ramoreboli, who described the forward as a ‘finisher’. However, the 26-year-old will not be part of Pirates’ Jose Riveiro’s squad for the new season. The club confirmed that they are in talks with Swallows regarding a loan deal for Mabasa.
He spent the past season on loan at Sekhukhune United but struggled to command a regular place in the starting line-up.
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“Tshego can score goals at any given time. He might not give you what [Victor] Letsoalo would give you in terms of being quick into spaces, like [Iqraam] Reyners, but Tshego is a finisher,” Ramoreboli said after the game.
“Again, it was also a risk and a motivation for Tshegofatsho Mabasa because he needs to come back and remind people who Tshegofatso Mabasa [is].
“In the match against Botswana, we did not use Tebogo Tlolane, but today we have to play him because we needed a bit of anaerobic endurance in the midfield in terms of covering the distance and also the thinking because he could hold the ball and see the opponents. We needed that.
“Against Botswana, we overused [Shaun] Mogaila, and in this match, we had to try and manage his energy; that is why we had to bring him later.”
Bafana will take on the best runner-up, Zambia, in the semi-final on Friday at the King Zwelithini Stadium. The game is set to start at 18:00 pm.