Gabadinho Mhango (r) Is the Orlando Pirates fans' favourite so far ahead of the Carling Black Label Cup. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix.
With the Carling Black Label Cup between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates coming up, both club’s fans have a say in who they want to see starting the game by voting, which reveals which player is most popular with the team’s supporters.
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As of Monday, Malawian international Gabadinho Mhango has received the most votes from the fans to start in the pre-season tournament.
The striker has received over 33 000 votes from the Ghost, making him the most voted player in the Bucs squad.
It shows the belief and the trust Pirates’ supporters have in the goalpoacher, even though this past season didn’t go so well for him.
The previous season, Mhango finished the campaign as the joint top scorer alongside Peter Shalulile with 16 league goals .
But, this past season, injuries saw the striker miss a lot of games for the Buccaneers and when he came back on the field he wasn’t at his best form that saw him away with the top scorer accolade.
Returning for next season, the striker will be hoping injuries are a thing of the past and he plays as many games as he can to score more goals for the Buccaneers.
The second most popular pick by the Ghosts is goalkeeper Richard Ofori, who has over 28 000 votes. The Ghanaian shot-stopper is well respected and trusted by the Bucs’ faithful.
His season was also disturbed by injuries having came into the team and made the number one spot his from Wayne Sandilands.
Both Mhango and Ofori surpass Thembinkosi Lorch with the votes so far, with the Bafana Bafana international having been one of the popular stars in the Orlando Pirates squad in the past.
Striker Zakhele Lepasa is also another surprising pick having missed a number of games after getting injured.
Midfielder Fortune Makaringe and defender Wayde Jooste currently have the least votes in the squad.
Jooste has 8 984 votes, whereas Makaringe is on just over 8000.
Both Makaringe and Jooste have played a number of games for Orlando Pirates this past season.
All Orlando Pirates votes:
Richards Ofori 28 876
Happy Jele 22 118
Thulani Hlatshwayo 10 797
Innocent Maela 9 223
Wayde Jooste 8 984
Thembinkosi Lorch 15 656
Vincent Pule 13 752
Ben Motshwari 9 804
Fortune Makaringe 8 108
Gabadinho Mhango 33 585
Zakhele Lepasa 27 815
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