They didn't start their season well, but there was a ray of hope that things will improve and in no time the Bucs will start beating the hell out of their opponents. Winning the MTN 8 was the beginning of many good days to come, so I thought.
They went on to break Mamelodi Sundowns's unbeaten run of four games with a breath-taking performance. I started to believe that indeed Pirates might just surprise a lot of people this season and go on to win the elusive league title, they looked like a team on a rampage, truly unstoppable.
Finally Pirates were going to become the happy people that they once were in the not so distant past. how wrong I was.
On Wednesday they were stopped on their tracks by Mpumalanga Black Aces, what an anti-climax. It seems as if the Bucs just can't get over their inconsistency, I expected them to beat the sense out of Aces but it was not to be.
This weekend they will be facing an on form Lamontville Golden Arrows in the Telkom knockout cup and it's hard to see them winning, I must quickly say that my opinion is not based on their disappointing performance against Aces.
It is based on the fact that Pirates are not consistent as well as their tendency to only perform at their best only when they play the big guns, it is possible though that they might prove me wrong.
Orlando Pirates is a big team with a brilliant squad of players, they have shown what they are capable of by winning the MTN 8 trophy, their victory over Sundowns was another example of what they can do on their day, but they need to realize that consistency is the order of the day if a team entertains any ambitions of winning the league title. Right now they just don't have it.
If you ask me now if I still believe that they might win the league, I would say ye....s, you know what that means right?
By Siphiwe Hlongwane
