After guiding Orbit College FC to victory before the sweat even dried, Pogiso Makhoye, the mastermind behind the TVET’s promotion triumph, made a passionate appeal to Orlando Pirates.
A 1-0 win over Cape Town City FC on Wednesday at a packed Olympia Stadium secured the Rustenburg team’s historic promotion to South Africa’s top-flight.
Orbit, which finished second in the Motsepe Foundation Championship log standings this past season, topped the PSL Promotional/Relegation Playoffs table after winning two matches and drawing two.
The Mswenko Boys scored a second-half goal through Letsei Koapeng, a strike that ultimately relegated Cape Town City to the second-tier.
Orbit College entered the clash against CT City aiming to secure maximum points and seal their promotion to the Betway Premiership. In their previous match, the North West-based side earned maximum points with a 1-0 victory over Casric Stars at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium last Saturday.
Already thinking ahead to their first season in the Betway Premiership, Makhoye made an appeal to the Buccaneers.
WHAT WAS POGISO MAKHOYE’S PLEA TO ORLANDO PIRATES
The Bucs duo of Siyabulela Mabele and Gomolemo Khoto has been instrumental for Orbit. Makhoye describes Mabele, who scored the winning goal against Casric last week, as “the heartbeat of Orbit.”
The 22-year-old attacker was signed from Orbit College after a strong performance at the Pirates Cup. He was one of the standout players at the 2023 edition and was named Most Valuable Player, despite the final ending in a penalty shootout loss to Stars of Africa.
Khoto, meanwhile, was developed through Orbit and later signed by Pirates. The duo was loaned back to the Rustenburg club.
“That one is a boardroom one, but I’d like to have Mabele back, he’s still young and needs to play more. It’s something that we need to talk with Pirates and see what we can do because the boy was developed here,” said Makhoye.
“He’s the heartbeat of this team. I’ll be happy to have him back, even Khoto, to have them back here because they need to play. They’re still young, and they need to play week in and week out. But we’ll see, we’ll talk to Pirates. I’d love to have them here.”
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