Zinnbauer praises new Pirates striker Makusu

Jean-Marc Makusu has probably done himself a big favour by scoring his first goal for Orlando Pirates against Jwaneng Galaxy in their Caf Confederation Cup match last weekend.

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Makusu scored one of three goals for the Buccaneers after coming on as a second half substitute, which saw the Soweto club sail through a 3-0 victory in the first leg of the playoffs staged at the National Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana.

With that goal, Bucs coach Josef Zinnbauer believes Makusu’s goal will give the striker the much needed confidence, who has made a number of appearances at the club without scoring after he was brought in from AS Vita on loan at the beginning of the season.

The Buccaneers are set to host the Botswana outfit in the second leg at the Orlando Stadium on Sunday, and the DR Congo international might make his first start for the club.

“Mundele scored and it’s always good for a striker to score because he gets more self confidence. His conditioning is coming and his game model is what we need, we could feel it before in the training sessions. Now he is giving us a signal, he had a good game, scored and gave a good performance in this game and I think it’s important for us,” said the Bucs coach during a virtual press conference on Thursday.

“We have a game on Sunday, now we have to see what is happening with the squad, how many players need a break, how many players are fit for this game. But it’s not easy because it’s a tough game, a special game.”

Pirates three away goals has certainly put the club in a good position to advance to the next round of the competition.

But, the German mentor says they will have to guard against complacency in the return fixture.

“Yes, we have scored three goals, but in football anything is possible we have to be careful. I think keeping a clean sheet and scoring is always important in Caf matches, especially when you play away. But not only the three goals were important, the performance we gave was good for the team. Overall I’m happy with the team effort.”
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