Pirates to do without skipper

ORLANDO Pirates will attempt to power through to the final of the African Champions League without Lucky Lekgwathi, their captain and longest-serving player, who was left out of the squad travelling to Tunisia last night.The Buccaneers boarded an Egypt Air flight to Cairo where they will then catch a connecting flight to Tunis to face Esperance in the semi-final second leg clash at the Stade Olympique de Rades tomorrow (8pm kickoff SA time).

Roger de Sa, the Pirates coach, confirmed that Lekgwathi had not been picked for the crucial encounter.
“We’ve got to play those guys we think are ready for the next match. Lucky has missed four matches and to go and throw him in against Esperance is a bit unfair,” the coach said.

“There are no issues around him being left out and I don’t think it affects the team morale at all. Like I have said before, it is not about one player but about the whole squad. If he is complaining about not playing, I have 19 other players who have also not been playing.”
Lekgwathi’s exclusion from the travelling team to face Esperance is no regular omission.

The 38-year-old skipper took to his column in the Daily Sun to vent his frustration two weeks ago after missing out on a place in the team in the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final encounter against Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs on 24 September.

The Buccaneers beat Amakhosi 2-1 on aggregate to progress to the final where they took on Platinum Stars at Durban’s Moses Mabhida four days later.

Lekgwathi also watched that match as a spectator, leading to his scathing column, where he alleged that “sinister forces” at the club did not want to see him succeed.

The former Bafana defender also missed the first leg against Esperance, a goalless draw earlier this month, as well as the Telkom Knockout round of 16 clash against Mpumalanga Black Aces.

The Bucs were 3-1 victors in that thrilling game in Nelspruit. Before the team’s departure for Tunisia, Lekgwathi assumed his role as club captain by introducing each player to Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula. – Sowetan.