{"id":21928,"date":"2025-08-11T13:37:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T11:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=21928"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:03:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:03:52","slug":"why-orlando-pirates-left-mabasa-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/why-orlando-pirates-left-mabasa-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Orlando Pirates Left Mabasa Out of Their First Two Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has clarified that Tshegofatso Mabasa is fully fit but was left out of the squad for the Buccaneers\u2019 opening two games this season by tactical choice rather than injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mabasa-s-absence-sparks-questions\">Mabasa\u2019s Absence Sparks Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mabasa, who netted 15 goals in all competitions last term, was absent from both the 2-0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/mtn8-semi-finals-venues-dates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">MTN8<\/a> quarterfinal victory over Polokwane City and the recent 1-0 home defeat against Sekhukhune United in the Betway Premiership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-1770917155\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-striker-selection-raises-eyebrows\">Striker Selection Raises Eyebrows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision to sideline Mabasa has raised questions, especially as another seasoned forward, Evidence Makgopa, has also yet to feature, only making the bench for the Sekhukhune match. Instead, Ouaddou has shown faith in young attacker Boitumelo Radiopane, who scored just once last season and has yet to open his account this campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ouaddou-s-response-on-mabasa\">Ouaddou\u2019s Response on Mabasa<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMabasa is available. It was a tactical decision on our part. He is ready, and when called upon, I believe he will deliver his best,\u201d Ouaddou said after Siphesihle Mkhize\u2019s strike handed Sekhukhune their second league win at Orlando Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou might wonder why the forwards we&#8217;ve played haven\u2019t scored yet. However, we have a deep squad this season, and everyone will get their opportunity at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2586223196\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-early-setback-for-orlando-pirates\">Early Setback for Orlando Pirates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The unexpected loss to Sekhukhune was a disappointing start for Ouaddou and Pirates, who had previously enjoyed a seven-game winning streak to kick off last season. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/local-soccer\/pirates-ouaddou-explains-mabasa-absence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The team <\/a>must now quickly regroup as they prepare to face Ouaddou\u2019s former club, Marumo Gallants, in their next Premiership fixture on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-chance-to-bounce-back\">Chance to Bounce Back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gallants began their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Richards Bay on Saturday, adding to the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe boys were disappointed after the game, but I reminded them there\u2019s a chance to bounce back quickly and win the next match,\u201d Ouaddou added. \u201cThe league is long, and while the start was tough, we need rest and then a strong comeback.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This approach highlights Ouaddou\u2019s long-term view, focusing on squad rotation and managing players to ensure sustained performance throughout the demanding season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/betway-premiership-log-standings-top-goalscorers\/\">Betway Premiership Week One \u2013 Log Standings and Top Goalscorers<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has clarified that Tshegofatso Mabasa is fully fit but was left out of the squad for the Buccaneers\u2019 opening two games this season by tactical choice rather than injury. Mabasa\u2019s Absence Sparks Questions Mabasa, who netted 15 goals in all competitions last term, was absent from both the 2-0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":21944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has clarified that Tshegofatso Mabasa is fully fit but was left out of the squad for the Buccaneers\u2019 opening two...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[296,273,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-21928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-betway-premiership","10":"tag-orlando-pirates","11":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21945,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21928\/revisions\/21945"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}