Junior Khanye and Benedict ‘Tso’ Vilakazi have hailed Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa as the difference in the side’s victory in the CAF Champions League on Saturday.
Pirates defeated Stade d’ Abidjan 3-0 in Orlando to move to the top of Group C with eight points from four matches, with Mabasa starting ahead of Evidence Makgopa on the day.
The 28-year-old didn’t score but was influential in attack, with both iDiski TV analysts impressed with his runs inside box that help eliminate defenders.
Khanye says Mabasa understood his position and role and executed it really well.
“Well done to Orlando Pirates for bringing back Mabasa,” said Khanye on iDiski TV.
“He brought a different dimension sitting central. Look at the runs off the ball he didn’t run too much but every time he was on a run and facing goals he looked dangerous.
“Well done to the guy he knows there are wingers and the he had to be central.”
Vilakazi hailed the former Bloemfontein Celtic man for being a team player and how he always puts the Buccaneers in scoring positions.
“One player that does make a difference in this team and I hope that everyone can see that if they continue with him Pirates will score a lot of goals, that’s Mabasa,” added Tso on iDiski TV.
“To have Mabasa gives Pirates an edge every time when they get to the box unfortunately tonight he didn’t score but for me this boy is going places.
“One thing Mabasa does is always making those runs in the box. He doesn’t make runs outside the box and when you make those runs in the box one thing that automatically happens is that he’ll have two people behind him.
“He makes space for the likes of Tito [Patrick Maswangany] in the final third, the same applies to [Relebohile] Mofokeng, he knows that after he dribbles a player Mabasa will take two away from the goal posts and then he has the space to take a shot.
“People might think he’s not doing much with those movements but they make a huge difference. I mean check how many chances he created with the one, two combination touches.
“Check Tito’s goal, when he turned Mabasa went to the right side with two center-backs. So when Tito beat that guy he automatically went to score a goal and that’s the difference he gives them.”
You can view Khanye and Tso’s full analysis of the CAF Champions League Group C match between Orlando Pirates and Stade d’Abidjan on iDiski TV official YouTube channel.
