OPINION: Orlando Pirates should be taking advantage of Sundowns slips, but…

If we were to be honest with ourselves as football people, then we will agree that Orlando Pirates are the ones who were expected to be taking full advantage of Mamelodi Sundowns’ sudden slip in the DStv Premiership.

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Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not trying to discredit AmaZulu and Golden Arrows for the work they have done thus far in challenging the Pretoria outfit for the league champions title.

Both these clubs have upped their game this season and have to be applauded for their graft.

But, looking at both these KwaZulu-Natal clubs and the Buccaneers, Pirates have the better resources or rather, are much more equipped than these two teams.

Another thing is that Pirates have for years, or let me just bring it closer. In the last three years, Pirates have been finishing the season inside the top three and showed they have the quality in their squad to clinch the title.

In the 2017/18 season, Bucs finished the season in position two with 55 points, just five points behind eventual winners Downs. The following campaign, Bucs were once again the bridesmaids, this time around closing off the league campaign with 57 points, with only three points separating with winners Downs.

Last season, the Buccaneers ended in third place, seven points behind Bafana ba Style.

However, having bolstered their squad so much going into this season, especially with a number of players from Bidvest Wits who have the championship winning mentality, this campaign was seen as a light at the end of the tunnel for Bucs, with everyone anticipating to see Pirates beating every opponent in their way with ease and going toe to toe with the Brazilians.

When you look at the Sundowns squad and the rest of the teams in the DStv Premiership, it’s easy to say only Pirates’ team looks close to competing against the current log leaders.

But, I guess this is football, and whoever came up with the phase “bolo ga ena therefore [loosely translated football has no therefore”, knew what they were talking about.

Downs have dropped a huge five points in their last two games and had Pirates been in the right track from the word go, we would be seeing them among the clubs in the race for the league honours.