Reborn Tshegofatso Mabasa says it won’t be too long before he starts banging in goals for Orlando Pirates and hopes to start in the Soweto derby this weekend.
Mabasa is one of the players expected to help Pirates complete a league double over Kaizer Chiefs in a DStv Premiership match at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday at 15.30.
The forward recently returned to the Sea Robbers after a short loan spell with financially challenged Moroka Swallows.
Mabasa spent the first half of the season with Swallows after another loan deal with Sekhukhune United in the previous campaign where he didn’t enjoy a lot of game time.
At Swallows, he seemed to enjoy his football under former coach Steve Komphela as he scored six goals before returning to Pirates in January.
The former Bloemfontein Celtic target man has spoken about how being shipped out by Pirates toughened him up mentally and prepared him to fight for his place in the team.
Mabasa is now ready to deliver for the club that has lacked a solid goal-poacher for a while.
Orlando Pirates striker Tshegofatso Mabasa speaks for the first time about his two loan spells at Sekhukhune United and Moroka Swallows and how that has made his stronger.
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) March 8, 2024
📽️ #SABCSport's @superjourno #SABCSportFootball pic.twitter.com/TzMvfWMByt
“A lot of people have told me that they see a brand new me and it’s something that I’ve been working on to improve because which player doesn’t want to be a part of Orlando Pirates?” Mabasa said.
“And I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be back at the club and to give the club and the supporters what they deserve, which is goals and us winning games and trophies.
“That’s exactly what I want to contribute,” he said.
“I’m in a good space at the moment and it is only a matter of time before I start delivering on the pitch.”
Mabasa said as a team they were disappointed when they threw away the lead to draw 1-1 with Cape Town Spurs on Wednesday and emphasised the need to bounce back against Chiefs on Saturday.
“After (the performance against Spurs) the morale has gone down a bit, but it’s up to us to pick it up leading into the Soweto derby and this will be a big game,” Mabasa said.
“There’s no better way to regain our form than beating our rivals.”
𝐌𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐚: 𝐌𝐨𝐟𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐥𝐬𝐞
— Selebalo Karabo Phasha (@TheeSportsGuy01) March 8, 2024
Tshegofatso Mabasa says he hasn’t seen a youngster as gifted as Relebogile Mofokeng in a while. 🏴☠️#OrlandoPirates #OnceAlways #SowetoDerby #DStvPrem #DstvPremiership pic.twitter.com/ANzhMBHmov
