Melusi Buthelezi is fast endearing himself to The Ghost, and his Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has credited his quick adaptation at the club to his hard work.
The goalkeeping unit is a sensitive department, with coaches loathe to tamper with it – unless it’s a case of unforeseen eventualities, form and injuries.
Thanks to those eventualities, Riveiro has played all four of his goalkeepers – Buthelezi, Sipho Chaine, Richard Ofori and Siyabonga Mpontshane – during his one-and-ahalf-year spell at the club so far.
Riveiro’s latest No 1 is Buthelezi, and the newly signed 25-year-old has grabbed the jersey with both hands, keeping eight clean sheets in his first 10 games for the club.
Late push for Premiership title
Buthelezi’s form augurs well for Pirates’ late push for the DStv Premiership title, having won four of their past five matches.
Pirates’ latest league win was against Buthelezi’s former club TS Galaxy as they climbed up to fifth on the log to trail log leaders Sundowns, who have three games in hand, by eight points.
Buthelezi was instrumental in the win for Pirates as he kept a clean sheet, making a double save early in the first half.
“The goalie is important in the structure and he’s a specialist – his speciality is what happened in the first minutes of the game,” said Riveiro after the 1-0 win over Galaxy in Orlando on Saturday.
“Melusi is there, it’s not a secret. He showed it last season, playing for Galaxy. And again, he’s working hard.
“He’s competing with the No 1 goalkeeper of Ghana (Richard Ofori), Sipho Chaine and the experienced Siyabonga Mpontshane. You can imagine the training and competition.”
But while Riveiro is happy with the goalkeepers at his disposal, he believes that it takes a collective effort to defend and play without the ball.
“We spend 40% of the game without possession,” explained the Spaniard.
“If I am not mistaken, in 13 league games, we didn’t concede a single goal in open play – only in set piece and transitions.
“But more than the clean sheets, it talks well about the level of commitment in the team when we don’t have possession. And not conceding brings you close to winning.”
Strong run of results
Pirates have come close to winning their last five league matches, with their only blemish the 0-0 draw with Richards Bay away from home. Their striking unit has driven their purple patch, with 19-year-old Relebohile Mofokeng in the spotlight.
Mofokeng is not yet a prolific goalscorer, but he makes up for that with what he gives the team – speed, trickery and passes.
And thanks to his growth over the past two seasons, many have tipped him to be considered for Bafana Bafana’s final Africa Cup of Nations squad.
“I think we have talent in the team. A lot of South African players in our squad has showed that they are competitive,” said Riveiro.
“I think the only doubt that people can have about Rele is his age and the experience but if he gets the chance (to represent Bafana) he’ll show whether he has the capacity (to contribute).
“We as his coaches feel he’s a talented player. He understands football very well.
“He needs to improve. He’s a young player and still needs to understand things.”
Improving doesn’t stop, though. And that’s why Riveiro says Mofokeng will live up to the expectations whenever he’s called up to the team – even in 10 years’ time.
“Sometimes talent is not enough. This game requires everything. But he’s working very hard.
“I am sure whenever he gets the chance, he’s not going to disappoint,” he said.