Pogiso Makhoye opens up on missing Saleng & co in Pirates defeat | OneFootball

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Makhoye shares thoughts on missing Saleng & Co against Pirates

Photo: Orbit College

Orbit College head coach Pogiso Makhoye has opened up about facing Orlando Pirates without the services of the on-loan Bucs trio, including Monnapule Saleng, Yanga Madiba and Thuso Moleleki, on Tuesday evening.

The newly promoted outfit succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to the Soweto giants, falling to Lebone Seema’s stunner from outside of the box. With back-to-back defeats, Orbit dropped to 14th-place on the Betway Premiership standings.

Makhoye had to do without the services of Saleng, who has been a regular feature on the starting XI this season, while Moleleki and Madiba were also not on the bench, as the loan agreement between Pirates and Orbit prohibits the players from facing their parent club.

When quizzed on whether the trio’s absence affected how he would have preferred to plan against the Buccaneers, the Orbit mentor swiftly poured cold water on the suggestions, stating that it’s a scenario they prepared for in advance as per the deal conditions.

“I think it didn’t even disturb us because we knew when we got them on loan that when we play against Orlando Pirates they won’t play. So, we are talking about only one player [Saleng] that has been on the starting XI for the past three games,” said Makhoye.

“It’s not like the other two [Madiba and Moleleki] have been part of the starting XI, so we always had a plan. We knew Saleng was not going to be part of this [match] and it never distracted us, he was here today [Tuesday] supporting the team because he also knew he wouldn’t play.

“I think him being here also helped them [the team] to say we can perform, and they really performed tonight.

The Mswenko Boys will be determined to get back to winning ways when they host TS Galaxy at the Dobsonville Stadium on Saturday, 30 August. Saleng and his fellow Pirates loanees are expected to be retained in the matchday squad on the day.