Pirates hope to win Telkom Knockout in memory of Senzo
JOBURG - Ayanda Gcaba has called on his team mates to overcome the trauma around the tragic murder of their captain goalkeeper and go all out to win the Telkom Knockout in his memory.
Meyiwa was shot dead at his girlfriend Kelly Khumalo’s parents’ home in Spruitview, Vosloorus on 26 October in a suspected botched armed robbery.
Taken at the prime of his career, Meyiwa was accorded a provincial state burial on 1 November at his hometown of uMlazi in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
“We shall see in the weekend game whether we have recovered from the tragedy or not,” said Gcaba who is tipped to takeover the captain’s armband. “But I am confident we shall prevail against an inform SuperSport United which has had good runs of late since coach [Gordon] Ingesund took over the team.
“I urge my teammates to come out of the tragic shell and win the match and even go all the way to win the cup in memory of Senzo. Some players have overcome the tragedy but others are still struggling to come to terms with it, but we are pushing to ensure we are one 100 percent on Saturday [8 November] evening.” The match kicks-off at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto at 8.15pm.
His SuperSport counterpart and captain, Thabo September said they too felt a great sense of loss as was the case with the entire sporting fraternity and the nation at large. “We are equally going to put the tragedy behind us, and as sportsmen we will equally want to win it for him too.”
September said teams may be rivals on the field of play but socially “we tend to hang out together”.
One suspect has been positively linked to Meyiwa’s murder and has since appeared in court, and the police said they were still looking for other suspects believed to have been involved in the crime.
Orlando Pirates were hoping to win the game in memory of slain Senzo but unfortunately they lost the game and now claimed they were still mourning his death. That’s the game guys…win or loose.