Marked for Patrick Maswanganyi
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Orlando Pirates will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match24 Oct 2026
The unbeaten run reaches 13. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Orlando Pirates training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oswin Appollis 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Patrick Maswanganyi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Relebohile Mofokeng has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Oswin Appollis, and the manager let it.
Match24 Oct 2026
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Orlando Pirates will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match17 Oct 2026
The unbeaten run reaches 12. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad19 Oct 2026
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
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Khumoitsile Rathokolo is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
5.62. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
Loan watch19 Oct 2026
9 appearances away from home and 3 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match5 Oct 2026
Orlando Pirates refuse to drop out of the race
Position 1, 19 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Match3 Oct 2026
Maritzburg United will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Orlando Pirates were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.77 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match3 Oct 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Orlando Pirates did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Oswin Appollis falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad5 Oct 2026
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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
161% of the income goes out in wages at Orlando Pirates
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
“I did not go to Dynamo Kyiv to sit and watch. I want to come back to Orlando Pirates and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 8 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.03 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match26 Sep 2026
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Oswin Appollis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ntokozo Dlamini is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Deon Hotto falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Yanela Mbuthuma
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Relebohile Mofokeng did not need any: 7.75, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match19 Sep 2026
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
The terraces21 Sep 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Relebohile Mofokeng has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Oswin Appollis
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Orlando Pirates training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nkosinathi Sibisi 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
24 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match19 Sep 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match9 Sep 2026
A 1‑0 win over Platinum Stars, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match9 Sep 2026
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Orlando Pirates scored in the 104th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Market14 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Orlando Pirates, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match12 Sep 2026
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Orlando Pirates training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oswin Appollis 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 8.75. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Orlando Pirates.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Sep 2026
Cemran Dansin hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Orlando Pirates can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad7 Sep 2026
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.
Squad7 Sep 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Relebohile Mofokeng, and the manager let it.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 8.49. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Orlando Pirates.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Oswin Appollis dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer from AS Bakaridjan for Ethan Visagie was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Oswin Appollis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Deon Hotto falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 8.57 — 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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes of Evidence Makgopa at his very best
Marked 8.59. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Orlando Pirates.
Market17 Aug 2026
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Orlando Pirates has been clear about where Makhehleni Makhaula stands, which is more than many ever get.