Former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs has stood firm on his views that the league title race is over after the Buccaneers drew with Richards Bay FC in the Betway Premiership, saying Mamelodi Sundowns are too experienced to slip up.
Josephs again made his feelings clear on the title race, reflecting on both his emotional connection to the Soweto giants and the pressure of competing with Sundowns at the top.
The Kenyan national team goalkeeper coach has stressed that his comments come from a place of honesty as both a former player and a supporter of Bucs.
Josephs said he remains fully committed to Pirates, adding that he has experienced success with the club during his playing days. He also pointed out that the bigger concern is not the points dropped, but the context in which they are dropped, especially when chasing a dominant side like Sundowns.
In their most recent outing, Pirates escaped defeat by the skin of their teeth, scoring late to rescue a 2-2 draw against Richards Bay FC last Friday. The away result saw the Soweto giants miss a massive opportunity to climb to the summit of the Betway Premiership log. The Buccaneers now trail Sundowns by a single point, with the defending champions holding a crucial game in hand. Sundowns could potentially expand their lead to four points with only six games remaining in the campaign.
MOENEEB JOSEPHS: MAMELODI SUNDOWNS ARE TOO EXPERIENCED
“Sundowns have got acres and miles in an abundance of experience in doing this thing. You know? We had them by the neck about four or five games ago. We had them, the chance, and then we slipped up,” Josephs said on the Soccer Beat podcast.
“Every time when it’s crucial for us, we slip up. And that, for me, was the frustrating part when we had a little bit of a chance, just to put a little bit of a lock on them, we slipped up.
“For me, the mindset is not quite there yet. As much as I’d love my team to win this league for the way they have performed this season… honestly, if there was a title awarded purely for the way you played and for showing unbelievable character, I would hand it to them myself.
‘I HAVE MY OWN FEELINGS’
“But unfortunately, that is not the way the league is won. This league is won by points. And as for who comes out the best, right? And if you’ve been doing the best all season, and you lose the last game and the last point, then unfortunately, you’re not going to be the best,” the Mitchells Plain-born legend declared.
He added that consistency over the course of the season is crucial. However, Josephs felt Pirates have continued to drop points at key moments. The goalkeeper coach admitted that his comments were also emotional, driven by disappointment when his team failed to win matches he believed they should have taken all three points from.
“Listen, don’t, you must also understand, yes, I am an Orlando Pirates supporter, but I also have my own feelings. So if I voice my opinion of how I feel, that’s how I feel. That’s not how everybody else should feel.
“If we were competing with a Sekhukhune [United] or AmaZulu [FC], I was going to feel we have a chance. But this is Sundowns. They know how to do this. They have won it for how many years in a row? Six, seven years in a row? [Eight times]… if we add up all our available points, it will be 73 points. And if we add up Sundowns’ points, it will be 77. So it’s not in our control. And that is not how I like to compete…”
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