orlando pirates

Rhulani Mokwena, coach of Orlando Pirates during the Absa Premiership 2019/20 match between Orlando Pirates and Golden Arrows at Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, on 28 August 2019 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

Orlando Pirates: Mokwena urges patience in hunt for elusive goals

Orlando Pirates have now gone six matches without a victory, scoring just once, in what has been a woeful start to the season.

orlando pirates

Rhulani Mokwena, coach of Orlando Pirates during the Absa Premiership 2019/20 match between Orlando Pirates and Golden Arrows at Orlando Stadium, Johannesburg, on 28 August 2019 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

A busy month, which has seen Orlando Pirates play seven games, has been far less prolific in terms of churning out goals, sending the club to the Fifa international break with just one victory since the season began.

The Soweto giants have managed to find the net just four times in August, three of those coming in the season opener against Bloemfontein Celtic at Orlando Stadium.

It was on the very same venue, where their winless streak stretched to six matches on Wednesday night when they were held to a goalless draw by Golden Arrows.

Dry spell continues

The result was identical to their previous league outing, where they failed to score away to AmaZulu, and the two draws against the KwaZulu-Natal clubs come on either side of yet another stalemate – a 1-1 draw against Zambia’s Green Eagles in the Caf Champions League.

Rhulani Mokwena, who has been at the helm throughout this period, is still awaiting his first win as Pirates head coach, following Milutin Sredojevic’s surprise resignation two matches into the league campaign.

The former Buccaneers assistant noted that his charges have done a lot right, besides finding the net.

“All we can do is go back and work even harder. And you have to ask what is God teaching me? The biggest thing I would say is patience,”  Mokwena said after the game against Arrows.

“The goals are eluding us. We are hitting the crossbar everyday. We are getting in to the final third. But it will come. We just have to continue and keep believing.”

Rhulani Mokwena

Pirates not short on belief

With no victory in their last six games, Pirates are in the midst of a run that’s almost in direct contrast to how they finished their previous campaign, where they ran eventual league champs, Mamelodi Sundowns all they way to the finish line.

Although there have been a number of new additions to the squad, the core of the player’s who did duty last season is almost exactly the same.

Mokwena is confident that there is enough self-belief in the camp for things to turn around.

“The same squad of players that went almost 22 games unbeaten,” he added.

“So we got faith, we believe in them, they know we believe in them. And they need to just get that one win and we will turn things around.

“I wish all the internationals would stay behind. We lose a couple of internationals, but it is a very, very needed FIFA break. We want to work on a lot of things and rebuild the confidence.”

Rhulani Mokwena

Orlando Pirates return to action on Saturday, 14 September with a visit to Highlands Park.