Pogiso Makhoye laments costly errors as Orbit College slip against Stellies

Orbit College coach Pogiso Makhoye lamented the costly errors his side committed against Stellenbosch FC after they let an important Betway Premiership victory slip away at Olympia Park Stadium on Wednesday.

Goals from Thato Khiba and Athenkosi Mcaba overturned Mbulelo Wagaba’s superb first-half strike, with two late efforts that may well spark a turnaround for Steve Barker’s side, who had been staring at what would have been their eighth defeat of the season.

For Orbit, it was a wasted opportunity against a direct rival, as Stellies’ comeback allowed them to close the gap between the teams to a single point, with both clubs having now played 13 matches.

The Rustenburg team switched off during a decisive phase of the match, and Makhoye believes losing influential winger Monnapule Saleng to injury was the moment the game began to slip away from them.

“I thought we controlled the game very well. The match was going well until we had to make a substitution with Saleng due to injury,” Makhoye told SuperSport TV after the match.

Orbit had already weathered several periods of pressure from a determined Stellenbosch outfit desperate to revive their campaign. And when Stellies were reduced to 10 men following Thabo Moloisane’s red card with ten minutes remaining, Makhoye might have expected the advantage to be theirs — but he insists the dismissal worked against them as they eased off.

“After they went one man down we tried to consolidate but we gave them a lot of set-pieces and from there on we committed too many numbers in our box and we were ball-watching.”

Orbit have now conceded 22 goals in 13 league matches — a worry that continues to trouble Makhoye, who says the team is working tirelessly to resolve their defensive issues.

“It’s something we have been working on,” he continued.

“We thought we would keep a clean sheet in this match but hopefully we will get it right one day. We gave them a game we should have won, we should have won this game.

“It’s a problem (conceding goals) that needs fixing but it will not happen overnight and the injuries that we have also cost us today. There is nothing much we can do but just hope that all the injured players come back in January.”

Orbit will now turn their attention to their final match of the year, a home fixture against Durban City. With their unbeaten run at Olympia Park now ended, they will be determined to finish the year strongly despite having let a major chance slip through their fingers.