Pirates’ Sesane determined to make an impression

Orlando Pirates defender Thabiso Sesane is working hard at training to impress Spanish head coach Jose Riveiro and his technical team for a chance in line-ups for official matches.

Sesane was linked with a loan move to Golden Arrows and Chippa United at the start of the season, but ended up staying at the Buccaneers.

The club has finally registered Sesane for the 2023/24 campaign, and was on the bench when the Buccaneers played Richards Bay over the weekend. Given their heavy schedule, the Soweto giants have had a change of heart about the central defender, who has worked his way into the club’s plans for the season. 

The centre-back has yet to appear for the Sea Robbers, but an SN24 source close to the club told this publication that the player is not too far off from finally making his debut. 

The 23-year-old was also named in the Jose Riveiro coached side match day squad against AmaZulu and was included in the substitute bench, although he didn’t feature against the KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit. 

The highly-rated defender faces stiff competition in the centre-back position, with Olisa Ndah, Nkosinathi Sibisi, Thapelo Xoki, and Sandile Mthethwa fighting for a place in the starting lineup. 

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 SESANE’S HARD WORK COULD EARN HIM STARTING ROLE

Sesane is a product of the Orlando Pirates development program. He has been part of the Pirates first team since the start of the 2020/21 campaign following his promotion from the junior ranks, along with Azola Tshobeni, who is on loan at Motsepe Foundation Championship side JDR Stars. 

Since being promoted from their development team in 2020, the youth international has featured in only three DStv Premiership games for the Mighty Buccaneers in the 2020/21 campaign and has been loaned twice.

First, in 2021, he played for Jomo Cosmos, and then last season, he was at the now-defunct All Stars, where he featured in 29 league games and two Nedbank Cup matches. 

Thabiso Sesane, the former Orlando Pirates DStv Diski challenge captain, was one of the outstanding players for All Stars despite losing 2-0 against Pirates in a Nedbank Cup last 32 clash at Wits Stadium in February this year. 

The Jose Riveiro-led troops will be back in action against Moroka Swallows on Tuesday, 5 December, at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Durban. The kick-off is scheduled for 19h30.