The Ghost enjoyed the spoils of a tightly contested Soweto Derby this past weekend. Photo: Itumeleng English Independent Media
The Soweto Derby again showed why it ranks among Africa's biggest football derbies.
More than 90 000 fans were crammed into the Calabash at the FNB Stadium on Saturday to savour the iconic showpiece between the two Soweto rivals.
Patrick Maswanganyi's penalty technique he used to score from the 'spot' to give Orlando Pirates victory will be a talking point for a long time and is one of the five takeaways from the weekend's local football.
The pioneer of the panenka penalty kick, Antonín Panenka, would have been very proud of Pirates stand-out player Patrick Maswanganyi, who scored the Soweto Derby match-winner with an audacious spot-kick. The Czech player Panenka famously scored the decisive penalty against West Germany in the UEFA Euro 1976 final in Belgrade.
The panenka penalty has different names in other countries. In Italy, it's called 'the spoon'; in Brazil, the little dig; and in Argentina, the 'poked penalty kick'. Very seldom do goalkeepers anticipate a panenka penalty kick, and when they do, they make the easiest of saves.
Full credit to Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro for his game-changing tactical tweaks in the second half when he cracked Kaizer Chiefs’ defence in Saturday's Soweto Derby.
Seven minutes from the end, Riveiro brought on a defender, Bandile Shandu, for midfielder Thalente Mbatha. He used Shandu as a wing-back and at the time, he switched left-back Deon Hotto to the opposite side of the field. Riveiro said these tweaks helped to create the pressure that led to the penalty, which ultimately decided the clash.
Referee Christopher Kistoor, who handled the Mamelodi Sundowns versus Golden Arrows Premiership clash at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Sunday, was a busy man.
Kistoor, who hails from Grassy Park in Cape Town, handed Arrows six yellow cards and three to Sundowns.
Despite the six cards, he was very tolerant with Arrows, who decided that being overly aggressive would help their cause.
There were far too many 'one of the team' tackles, and some were worthy of red cards. Log leaders Sundowns showed remarkable restraint and maintained a wonderful temperament despite dealing with dirty tactics.
The return of Turkish-born coach Muhsin Ertuğral kicked off on a high note after he guided Cape Town City to back-to-back wins over Soweto giants Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs in the span of four days. This raised expectations, but since then, City has failed to deliver in four subsequent matches.
They lost league matches to Gallants and TS Galaxy (on Sunday), as well as a Nedbank Cup match against Sekhukhune United. More worryingly, City failed to score in these matches. Their only win was a 2-1 result against Richards Bay, who are hovering above the relegation zone. It's time for City boss John Comitis to put his thinking cap on.
Kaizer Chiefs fans will soon be running out of patience again after Saturday's Soweto Derby defeat. Even before Saturday's setback, their coach Nasreddine Nabi has, on occasion, said he needs time to make the team a force.
Although the team showed a huge improvement on Saturday against one of Africa's form teams, it is only winning that matters to Chiefs' fans. After several seasons without winning a trophy, their patience has been tested many times. It's time for Chiefs to return to winning ways, otherwise, Nabi will endure the fans' wrath sooner rather than later.