Josef Zinnbauer on Orlando Pirates striker’s form: ‘He is not the old Gaba’

Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer has given an assessment on two of his strikers in Gabadinho Mhango and Tshegofatso Mabasa.

Mhango has struggled for form this season due to a number of reasons, including injuries as he has scored just three times in 17 competitive matches.

This time last season, Mhango who shared the Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot with Peter Shalulile, had already netted 12 goals for Pirates.

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And Zinnbauer believes he had a selection headache without Mhango who is expected to return to Pirates setup having recovered from a niggling injury.

According to Zinnbauer, Mhango is in the same situation as Tshegofatso Mabasa, who is also available for selection, but the German mentor feels they need more time before they can hit the ground running.

“Without strikers, it was more headaches like now. Yes, it’s coming closer, but you see that Tshego (Mabasa) and also Gaba (Mhango) needs more time,” Zinnbauer told reporters  

While Zinnbauer is excited that both Mhango and Mabasa are back in contention, he feels they are not at the same level as before.

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“You see that Gaba works very well but you can see it’s not the old Gaba that we had before and Tshego also, but it was too short for time,” he added.  

“But I am happy about this, I don’t have a headache about the players coming back, no. Now, I go forward and I have to fight, the fight is always good for us.”

“We have competition in the squad and now we can go forward,” concluded Zinnbauer.