Orlando Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi has revealed why new striker Souaibou Marou didn’t feature at all against All Stars FC in the Nedbank Cup last-32 on Saturday.
The Buccaneers beat the Motsepe Foundation Championship side 2-0 at Bidvest Stadium on Saturday to progress to the last-16 of the competition.
With a Nedbank Cup against a team from the second tier, many fans hoped to see new striker Marou make his competitive debut for the Sea Robbers but coach Jose Riveiro opted against fielding the Cameroon international.
Riveiro himself got sent off during the game, leading to assistant Mandla Ncikazi answering questions as to why the new striker didn’t play.
“The substitutions unfortunately are still that [limited] number,” he responded when asked by iDiski Times why Marou didn’t at least come off the bench.
“If there was an opportunity we could’ve put him in, but the game determined that we didn’t use him. We didn’t use Kermit [Erasmus], we didn’t use a lot of strikers. We had to consolidate in different areas.
“I’m hoping he’ll get minutes very soon.”
Ncikazi also gave further insight into Marou’s strengths before discussing why he hasn’t featured for his new club so far.
“He can play as a lethal striker, he can play two strikers on top, he can play on the side in a 4-3-3. He’s very versatile,”
“Let’s see how he adapts to the South African game and we’re hoping to get the best out of him.
“What I always say, [it’s] not him. If the language is different from ours, it becomes an adaption that we need to overcome.
“But he’s doing well, you can see he’s a top player. He just has to adapt to how we play.
“I’m hoping the adaptation will be soon. I hoped and I wished he could’ve had a chance today.
“Maybe he’ll have chances in the next coming game.”
Pirates return to action on Friday when they will host Maritzburg United at Orlando Stadium. With Riveiro likely to be suspended, it will be a clash of the former Buccaneers co-head coaches Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids on the sidelines.
Story by Lorenz Kohler (@Lorenz_KO) and David Kappel.
