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Bucs coach to wield the axe
14/04/2008 14:50 - (SA)
Johannesburg - Orlando Pirates coach Owen da Gama is ready to wield the axe on his goal shy strikers.
Da Gama was shaking his head in frustration following title chasing Bucs' 1-0 home defeat by PSL leaders SuperSport United at the Johannesburg Stadium at the weekend.
Dropping to sixth spot on the table is not worrying Da Gama as much as the fact his two strikers, Excellent Walaza and Gilbert Mushangazhike, have fired blanks for the last four league matches.
The Buccaneers have scored only once in their last four league games and Saturday night's loss was hard to swallow. Da Gama was one of the finest finishers and strikers that South Africa has produced during the 1980s. So if anybody knows how to fix Bucs' goal drought, it is their coach.
Da Gama said he would be ringing in the changes ahead of Bucs' crunch Premiership clash away to second placed Ajax Cape Town next Wednesday night.
Said Da Gama: "I have been patient. I wanted this partnership between Walaza and Mushangazhike to grow but it has not developed and now I need to make drastic chances because I still have not given up on winning the league title."
Bucs have been held to goalless draws at home to relegation threatened clubs Black Leopards and Jomo Cosmos and lost to the other side in the relegation triangle, Thanda Royal Zulu, 2-1 in Durban. The loss to leaders United was the final straw for Da Gama.
He stated: "We created nine chances to United's two and lost. I have no option but to try something new in attack in an effort to end our goal scoring problem."
Da Gama warned that Bucs should not be written off as title contenders. With five matches to play Bucs are 11 points adrift of United.
He explained: "The league race is not over. There is still a chance for us to win the league. I will not give up until the last whistle. But that was not my mandate when I joined Pirates. But winning the league would be a fantastic bonus."
Pirates were bottom of the log when the former Moroka Swallows striker took charge last October. He has lifted Bucs out of the doldrums and into serious title contenders.
He was given the job of putting Bucs back on even keel and to finish the season in a respectable position after evaluating all his players.
But another worrying factor for Pirates is a number of crucial decisions are going against them.
Said Da Gama: "I hate to complain about referees and I won't. Let's just say we have been very unlucky over the past month when a number of decisions have gone against us."
- SAPA
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