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Cape Town - Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi was left fuming after being left out of the 18-man squad that faced Platinum Stars in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban last Saturday.
The Buccaneers lost 3-1 on penalties after a 1-all draw after extra-time.
Speaking in an exclusive column, “Captain’s corner”, in Wednesday’s edition of the Daily Sun newspaper, the veteran defender revealed that “sinister forces” at Pirates were behind his omission from the starting line-up.
“Phinda Mzala” also referred back to December 2010 when he was benched in the Telkom Knockout final when his team lost 3-0 to arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs.
“Politics ruined what could have been a great sporting night for us, there are people at the club who don’t like the fact that am still playing,” said Lekgwathi.
“I experienced the same thing under Ruud Krol back in (the) 2010 Telkom Knockout final which we went on and lost 3-0 to Chiefs,” he added.
The match was filled with plenty of controversy before and after 120 minutes, as midfielder Andile Jali miraculously walked into the starting line-up although his name was not in the team sheet. It was reported a week before that he would be out of action for six months due to a shoulder injury.
Lehlohonolo Masalesa who was in the starting line-up had to settle for a place on the bench together with Sifiso Myeni who picked up a knock during the pre-match warm-up.
In the post-match interview, the former Pirates defender and current Platinum Stars defender Benson Mhlongo also made a controversial statement.
“Mayanga” revealed that Pirates almost ended his football career when they requested him to sign insurance papers to admit that his career was over.
Mhlongo also added that he was more than happy to beat his former employers in a Cup final when it mattered most.
It remains to be seen if Lekgwathi will be included in the starting line-up when Bucs face Tunisian giants, Esperance, in their CAF Champions League semi-final first leg on Saturday.
The match will be played at the Orlando Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 20:15.
The Buccaneers lost 3-1 on penalties after a 1-all draw after extra-time.
Speaking in an exclusive column, “Captain’s corner”, in Wednesday’s edition of the Daily Sun newspaper, the veteran defender revealed that “sinister forces” at Pirates were behind his omission from the starting line-up.
“Phinda Mzala” also referred back to December 2010 when he was benched in the Telkom Knockout final when his team lost 3-0 to arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs.
“Politics ruined what could have been a great sporting night for us, there are people at the club who don’t like the fact that am still playing,” said Lekgwathi.
“I experienced the same thing under Ruud Krol back in (the) 2010 Telkom Knockout final which we went on and lost 3-0 to Chiefs,” he added.
The match was filled with plenty of controversy before and after 120 minutes, as midfielder Andile Jali miraculously walked into the starting line-up although his name was not in the team sheet. It was reported a week before that he would be out of action for six months due to a shoulder injury.
Lehlohonolo Masalesa who was in the starting line-up had to settle for a place on the bench together with Sifiso Myeni who picked up a knock during the pre-match warm-up.
In the post-match interview, the former Pirates defender and current Platinum Stars defender Benson Mhlongo also made a controversial statement.
“Mayanga” revealed that Pirates almost ended his football career when they requested him to sign insurance papers to admit that his career was over.
Mhlongo also added that he was more than happy to beat his former employers in a Cup final when it mattered most.
It remains to be seen if Lekgwathi will be included in the starting line-up when Bucs face Tunisian giants, Esperance, in their CAF Champions League semi-final first leg on Saturday.
The match will be played at the Orlando Stadium with kick-off scheduled for 20:15.
