Benni McCarthy’s two second-half goals earned Orlando Pirates their second consecutive Premier Soccer League title. It was sweet revenge for McCarthy writes Rodney Reiners in the Cape Argus, “He’s been put down, trampled on, ridiculed, and dismissed as an over-weight, over-rated charlatan more often than any footballer should have to endure. Yet, each time, the 34-year-old Cape Town-born striker has come back to splatter copious bowls of beaten egg on the faces of his critics.”
McCarthy — the most prolific scorer in Bafana Bafana’s history — has experienced a rebirth since the humiliation of being left off the 2010 World Cup squad for lack of fitness (see photo).
Pirates went into the tense closing Saturday with a two-point lead over Soweto rivals Moroka Swallows. Both contenders took care of business in their away matches in KwaZulu-Natal: Bucs beating Golden Arrows 4-2 at Durban’s monumental but seldom-used Moses Mabhida stadium (highlights here); The Birds winning 1-0 at Maritzburg United’s more humble and intimate Harry Gwala stadium.
Smiling broadly, Benni McCarthy told Ryan Cooper of Kick Off magazine: “I’m doing the thing I love most, and that is playing football. The haters out there . . . next year I’m gonna keep coming back with more!”
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2 replies on “Benni Leads Orlando Pirates to PSL Title”
I honestly had real doubts on Pirates retaining the title, after the changes in coaching staff, and I believe other rival teams like Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs also imagined that Pirates were now officially down and out of the title race. I believe their win is very similar to Chelsea’s fairy tale win of the Champions League. and for Benny to be the man to rise on the occasion, one perceives the final chip in that fairy tale plot, that the underestimated always springs shocking surprises!
I don’t know why everybody diminish veteran soccer players. If they still play, It is because they have what it takes to do it and we have to respect them, because for some of them their glory days are far from over