JOHANNEBSURG - Orlando Pirates might be a point away from qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Caf Confederation Cup, but their aspirations could be in serious jeopardy, given that they’ll be without a reserve goalkeeper for their last group stage match against Enyimba.
The Bucs will be in action against the Nigerians on Wednesday night (11pm kick-off), with their fate of qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition still in their hands as they are at the summit of Group A with nine points from the last five matches in the group.
Although they might be leading the pack, Pirates are not out of the woods yet. A healthy scoring win for Enyimba could bring a lifeline to the rest of the teams in the group, given that Ahli Benghazi and ES Setif who’ll also clash this evening still have a chance at qualifying.
The Bucs will have to cross their fingers and hope that Wayne Sandilands will be able to start and finish the match. The veteran goalkeeper is without a reserve on the bench – with Siyabonga Mpontshane and Richard Ofori clearly still not fit to have made the final squad.
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Mpontshane and Ofori sustained respective injuries in the last few weeks, with coach Josef Zinnbauer forced to have the young Elson Sithole, 20, on the bench during their 1-all draw with Swallows FC in their last league match on home soil.
But with the two Caf squad registration windows having closed – unlike in domestic football where junior players can still be registered throughout the season amid Covid-19 implications – Pirates will be forced to look to an outfield player should anything happen to Sandilands.