Orlando Pirates’ Thembinkosi Lorch celebrated his return from injury with a Man of the Match performance, pocketing R100 000, in the Carling Black Label Knockout Cup last 16 against Cape Town Spurs on Friday night.
The Buccaneers added to the Urban Warriors’ woes with a 2-0 win at Orlando Stadium. Goals from Tapelo Xoki and Kermit Erasmus were enough to earn the Soweto giants a spot in the quarter-finals of the Carling Knockout.
Lorch returned to action for the Jose Riveiro-coached side for the first time this season, having been on the sidelines for a long time due to a knee injury.
The talented winger played the entire 90 minutes on his comeback and pulled off a Man of the Match display.
THEMBINKOSI LORCH ON HIS COMEBACK
“First of all, I would like to thank the man above [God] for the talent he gave me and for the opportunity to showcase my talent,” said Lorch in a post-match interview.
“It has not been easy for me. I’m happy that today the coach gave me the opportunity to play.”
The 30-year-old footballer admitted that it “wasn’t easy” for him as he struggled a bit in the field of play.
“To be honest, maybe the first 15 minutes I was struggling a bit you know,” he added.
“At half-time, the coach asked me if I would be able to continue, and I told him that I could continue. Even if you could see the last 10 minutes I was scraping.”
THEMBINKOSI LORCH’S GAME REFLECTION
The former Chippa United man also reflected on the entire time that his side had on the day.
“I would say the first half we started slow and the second half it was different. Coach told us that we must keep going to them and they will make mistakes. Luckily, that’s what they did and we managed to score two goals,” Lorch stated.
“We have a good team with good players and I’m happy for the guys. It’s like we have been together for long and I wish them more [success].”
ORLANDO PIRATES’ NEXT ASSIGNMENT
Pirates will now shift their focus to the DStv Premiership away clash against AmaZulu on Tuesday, 24 October 2023. The game is scheduled to start at 19:30 at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
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