Has Ndlovu won his place back in Pirates line-up? 

Just when co-coaches Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu David’s needed their players to step up, fringe player Siphesihle Ndlovu responded well for the Buccaneers and he is likely to be a player to look out for in the teams remaining fixtures. 

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Ndlovu has only made seven appearances for the Buccaneers this season, four in the league, two in the Caf Confederation Cup and one in the MTN8. But, with a lack of game time, it doesn’t seem like the midfielder took his head down and he looked like someone who has been giving his all in training during the club’s previous fixture against Sekhukhune United.

The former Maritzburg United player was instrumental in the Bucs midfield, where he even went on to win a penalty for the club, unfortunately, Deon Hotto failed to utilise the chance as his penalty was saved by Sekhukhune’s shot-stopper Ayanda Dlamini. The Buccaneers, however, were lucky to still walk away with a victory thanks to a late goal by Fortune Makaringe, giving the Sea Robbers a 1-0 victory. 

With a tie against Baroka FC on Tuesday coming up, there is no doubt that the Bucs’ technical team will be hoping for a similar performance from Ndlovu and Goodman Mosele, who was also brilliant in midfield and ended walking away with the man-of-the-match accolade. 

Ndlovu’s performance didn’t go unnoticed, as Ncikazi praising him for his work. 

“Ndlovu did well for somebody who has not played for such a long time to come in and play the way he played. I thought he got the penalty. Have the number 10s, we are going to face more blocks, it’s not the last time we do that and we have to be very creative in front of the defence,” Ncikazi commented. 

Evven though there might expectations that the midfielder might start his second game in a row against Bakgaga, the Pirates technical team has been rotating most of their players, and it’s even possible that Ndlovu might not even make the bench. 

The competition for a place in the line-up in the Bucs squad remains to be tough, with Mosele and Thabang Monare being preferred choices in the line-up, while players like Ben Motshwari, Fortune Makaringe, Neverdie Makhubela, Collins Makgaka, Nkanyiso Zungu and Linda Mntambo have all been fighting for a chance to play.