Cape Town - Orlando
Pirates forward Luvuyo Memela has revealed he was targeting a hat-trick
in last Saturday's 3-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs but was thwarted by
Siphiwe Tshabalala.
Memela was the hero for the Sea Robbers in the Soweto derby as he came off the bench in the second half for Bernard Morrison to score a superb brace for Milutin Sredojevic's side.
The last player to net three times in the derby was Jerry Sikhosana in 1996 when he produced clinical finishes to hand Bucs the three points over the Glamour Boys.
Nonetheless, the 30-year-old late bloomer said he was hungry to produce the same but was denied by a good tackle by Chiefs veteran Tshabalala in the closing stages of the encounter at the FNB Stadium.
He told reporters: "I wanted to score a hat-trick goal. When I got to the ball and when I looked and saw Shabba, I thought, let me delay and see what he does.
"So I pretended like I am playing around, so when he came, when I did that skill, I wanted him to come (to) this side and (then I) go run down the line but he touched it with his big toe.
"So, I wanted to score a hat-trick goal, I really wanted to score a hat-trick."
The Cape Town-born star is enjoying a breakout season in the Premiership having netted five times in 16 league appearances for Pirates.