The Orlando Pirates Chronicle
The terraces19 Oct 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 10 of the 38 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Sibusiso Tau: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Orlando Pirates have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A chastening introduction for Mickayle Arends — 5.65
It is a hard way to meet a crowd. Marked 5.65 on the day he was handed the shirt, and the important thing now is what the next one looks like.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Simphiwe Selepe is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Oswin Appollis in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Orlando Pirates this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Orlando Pirates training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Deon Hotto is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match17 Oct 2026
A bad afternoon for Orlando Pirates against Bloemfontein Celtic
1‑3 to Bloemfontein Celtic, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Tshepang Moremi runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A masterclass from Oswin Appollis
Marked 8.65 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
- Player ratings Deano Van Rooyen could not find anything
- Market Melusi Buthelezi linked with a move away
- The terraces The press have found their man in Oswin Appollis