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Lekoelea: Makola will have to play down the middle if he wants a starting spot at Orlando Pirates

The Sea Robbers legend tells Goal that 'Bibo' will have to play No. 10 if he wants to force his way back into the starting XI

Orlando Pirates legend Steve Lekoelea thinks that Mpho Makola will have to play through the middle if he is to reclaim a starting spot for the Bucs as he believes that Sifiso Myeni and Thabo Rakhale are playing too well to drop.

Lekoelea says he is mightily impressed with Rakhale in particular, who he says had more to his game than meets the eye.

He credits ‘Jomo’ with an improved tactical awareness and commends him on his recent defensive efforts.

“He’s playing very well, Rakhale,” Lekoelea told Goal.

“He is now beginning to start games.

“I told him before that he must be focussed on training, so that he can get in the starting line-up.

“I was happy for him because he does skills and the supporters are very hungry for that.

“They want to see the skills but I advised him that he must entertain supporters but also always play forward.

“You know what surprised me is that he has been defending very well.”

Makola, who had been first choice on the wing for most of last season, is now finding it difficult to break into the starting line-up.

While Lekoelea believes in Makola’s quality he suggests that he will now have to look at trying to claim the number 10 spot – a position that he has had success at before.

“Myeni and Rakhale are doing very well at the moment.

“Maybe they can try out Makola in the middle, he plays very well there,” Lekoelea concluded.

Orlando Pirates face SuperSport United on Tuesday evening at the Peter Mokaba Stadium at 19:30.

MTN8 Semis tickets now available

The race for the R8 million prize money offered to the winners of the MTN8 tournament will reach climax stage this weekend as the last four remaining clubs battle for the inside lane in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals.

Tickets are now available for both first and second leg semi-finals. The first leg semis will be played on Saturday night, 15 August 2015 and Sunday 16 August 2015. Tickets sell at R60 (West stand) and R40 for the rest of the stadium. Children under 12 years still pay R10 for entry.

On Saturday, Ajax Cape Town and Bidvest Wits clash at Coetzenberg Stadium (20h15) while defending MTN8 champions, Kaizer Chiefs will travel to Bloemfontein to play against Bloemfontein Celtic at the Free State Stadium (15h00).

The MTN8 semi-finals return leg will be played on 29 and 30 August 2015. On Saturday night (20h15), 29 August 2015, Kaizer Chiefs will host Bloemfontein Celtic at FNB Stadium while Bidvest Wits will be at home against Ajax Cape Town at the Bidvest Stadium at 15h00.

Orlando Pirates will be aiming to carry their Caf Confederation Cup momentum into the Absa Premiership with the Buccaneers shifting their focus to securing an opening round win over SuperSport United.

The Soweto giants have had no time to rest with their trip to the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane coming a few days after their 2-0 win over CS Sfaxien. Kick-off on Tuesday evening is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Pirates edged closer to a semifinal berth in Africa's second tier competition with a 2-0 win over the Tunisian giants at the weekend and will now be aiming for the perfect start to their league campaign with a win over Matsatsantsa.

For SuperSport, the game will be the ideal test with the capital side eager to launch a title bid, having fallen off the pace in the past few seasons.

Head coach Gordon Igesund, a league winner with Pirates, was appointed as head coach in September last year in an attempt to bring back the glory days to SuperSport. Having assembled a strong squad, the club's fans are hopeful that they can again achieve league success.

"I am certainly not saying we are going to win the championship, but what I am saying is that we want to be one of the teams challenging for the title," said Igesund ahead of the new campaign.

"I know from experience that it is not an easy task because there are teams like [Kaizer] Chiefs, [Orlando] Pirates, [Mamelodi] Sundowns, [Bidvest] Wits and SuperSport, and any one of these teams can win the championship. Having won four championships before, I always want the next one."

While SuperSport enjoyed pre-season, Pirates have been hard at work as they continue to shine on the continent. Some predicted that defeat to Ajax Cape Town in the MTN8 would see a change in fortunes for the Sea Robbers, but they bounced back with another win in the CAFCC and are now within touching distance of a place in the final four.

Commitments on the continent could prove to be a distraction from the league and Eric Tinkler is wary of the challenges his troops continue to face.

"We have to just remain focused and remain positive in all the tournaments that we play in," Tinkler highlighted following his team's win on Saturday.

"In football, you win and you are a hero. If you lose you're the villain. We were the villains against Ajax and heroes today [Saturday].

"In football you have games to redeem yourself so we just have to keep going and look to remain consistent going into the league."

In head-to-head stats, SuperSport and Pirates have met in 48 league matches since 1990.

The Buccaneers have 22 wins compared to 15 for Matsatsantsa, while 11 matches have been drawn.

Last season Bucs did a league ‘double’ over their Tshwane counterparts, winning 2-1 away and 4-1 at home. Moreover, Pirates will be able to call on Tendai Ndoro and former SuperSport player of the season Edwin Gyimah for Tuesday's clash.

Ezenkosi hold Maritzburg to goalless stalemate

omo Cosmos held Maritzburg United to a goalless draw in the Absa Premiership at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Monday.

The Team of Choice dominated most of the game, but the Cosmos defence would hold firm as they gathered a hard-fought point on their travels.

There was a flurry of chances for both sides in the early exchanges with Kurt Lentjies making the hosts' intentions clear within three minutes, his volley attempt flying just wide of Sherwin Naicker's left hand upright.

Cosmos' first chance fell to Matsilele Sono in the ninth minute. Brice Aka set-up the midfielder with a neat touch, but the latest Sono to break into the professional ranks failed to hit the target from the edge of the area.

Pentjie Zulu was unlucky to see his shot canon off the crossbar four minutes later, his turn and shot had Virgil Vries beaten, but not the woodwork.

Despite the early scare, it was the Team of Choice who dominated the rest off the opening stanza with Ashley Hartog and the in form Lentjies seeing their respective attempts sail wide of Naicker's goal.

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Maritzburg were dealt a major blow at the break with news that Lentjies wouldn't be returning from the changing rooms after suffering a hamstring injury before the break.

The hosts missed his creativity in the second stanza as they struggled to breakdown a stubborn Ezenkosi defensive wall.

Jomo Sono called on Bamuza Sono with the game heading into the closing stages and the substitution almost had the desired effect. The veteran midfielder setting up Mxolisi Macuphu who could only manage a tame effort at goal with his weaker left foot in the 77th minute.

Wiseman Maluleke had a portion of the crowd on their feet with five minutes remaining, but his shot from range troubled the side netting and not the back of the net as some thought.

David Booysen then had a chance to steal the points late on, but he favoured his foot over his head, when the latter option might have seen him grab the headlines.

In the end Cosmos did enough to walk away with a point in their first game since winning back promotion into South Africa's top flight.

Maritzburg United (0) 0

Jomo Cosmos (0) 0

Maritzburg United: Vries; Mkhize, Teyise, Booysen, P.Zulu, Makarine (Banda 81') , Lentjies (Dlamini 46'), Hartog, D.Mekoa (Cele 75'), De Jongh, Anas

Jomo Cosmos: Naicker; Mngomeuzulu, Nsabiyumva, Lingwati, Jampies (Ralebakeng 85'), Sithole, Macuphu, Maluleke, M. Sono Jnr (B.Sono 73'), Pentjie Zulu, Aka (Madonsela 73')

Ezenkosi hold Maritzburg to goalless draw

Jomo Cosmos held Maritzburg United to a goalless draw in the Absa Premiership at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Monday.