Daniel Msendami’s first real taste of action in Orlando Pirates colours left fans divided after Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns at the FNB Stadium.
Brought on in the final six minutes as Pirates hunted for an equaliser, the Zimbabwean winger struggled to make a mark, unable to beat his marker or find the killer pass in promising positions.
The loss trimmed Pirates’ lead at the top of the Betway Premiership to just three points, with Sundowns still holding a game in hand.
Since his January move from Marumo Gallants, Msendami has carried the expectation of replicating his AFCON form for Zimbabwe at Pirates.
After a quiet debut earlier this month, Wednesday’s outing has split opinion among the Buccaneers faithful. Some fans are already comparing him to former winger Gilberto, who never lived up to the hype at the club.
“Msendami is Gilberto 2.0 with a little bit of Saile. No player there! No brain! He’s playing s’yaHlofa football like Saile,” one fan posted.
“Msendami is exactly what I thought, good player if we got him for free but that’s another Gilberto in my opinion. At least he didn’t cost us R10m,” another one added.
Not all the reaction was critical, with some supporters calling for patience and understanding the challenges of a mid-season transfer.
Fans noted that January signings like De Jongh and Msendami lack pre-season preparation and time to build chemistry, insisting they should be fairly judged next season.
“De Jongh and Msendami are good players…buying any player in January is dangerous as it doesn’t involve any pre-season training, tuning, conditioning, getting to know their teammates, etc. We will only judge those two next season,” another fan commented.
The Sea Robbers face a lower-division side in South Africa’s premier knockout cup, aiming to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2024 under Jose Riveiro. After losing last season’s final to Kaizer Chiefs, the Soweto giants are eager to make amends, while the Zimbabwe international is pushing for his first start following Yanela Mbuthuma’s disappointing display against Sundowns.
