Orlando Pirates midfielder Fortune Makaringe has defended his teammate Siyabonga Mpontshane over Yusuf Maart’s wonder goal in the Soweto Derby.
Makaringe, 29, featured for 45 minutes in the derby, replacing Deon Hotto at half-time but couldn’t prevent his side from losing 1-0 to their bitter rivals.
The Bucs midfielder now revealed that no one in the dressing room has pointed fingers at Mpontshane for being caught off the line by Maart.
“This is a team sport. I didn’t see it as anyone’s mistake, it was our mistake as a team to actually lose the game against Kaizer Chiefs,” he told local journalists.
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“I didn’t see anyone pointing [fingers at Mpontshane] for that matter because I understand we work well for one another and we did our best for them to stay away from our goal and stuff.
“We need to commend… we need to grow as a nation to a point where we can give credit to someone without judging anyone else. That boy scored a beautiful goal and it says a lot abut the atmosphere that was there.
“It says a lot, it needed a beautiful goal for that occasion.”
Makaringe also explained that Mpontshane being off his line was due to the tactical system Pirates are playing under new coach Jose Riveiro.
“For someone who is a good analyst in football they would actually see that the team was playing high up and we lost the ball and they took a shot,” he added.
“It was a goal because of the way we play, but not for everyone to see and everyone to understand because we invest our emotions in the game.
“When you lose a game of that magnitude, which divides the nation, it’s a bitter pill to swallow for Orlando Pirates fans, but it’s part of the game and we learn from it and we grow from it stronger.”
The Buccaneers have a chance for redemption when they face AmaZulu in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
