The 24-year-old has been the hero of the Soweto giants in their last two games where he has come off the bench to save the team
Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer feels that forward Tshegofatso Mabasa has done enough to edge closer to earning a starting berth in the squad.
Mabasa came on as a substitute in Pirates’ last two Premier Soccer League games and scored crucial goals.
In his first match of the season after recovering from injury, the former Bloemfontein Celtic man rose from the bench to grab the winning goal three minutes from time in the 2-1 victory over SuperSport United.
His latest exploits was last Saturday’s injury-time equaliser to save the Buccaneers in the 1-1 draw against Baroka FC as Zinnbauer’s charges appeared set for their first league defeat of the season.
“I am very happy we have him. Maybe he needs a little bit of time [to play] for 90 minutes,” Zinnbauer told the media.
“His condition is very good, he is coming closer to the 90 minutes but at the moment we are very happy we are bringing him in and he is always in the right position and he scored.
“We are happy about this and I hope he continues like this in the next games and maybe he can play 90 minutes. At the moment I am very happy about him. Last week he was coming from a bad time, from a long time [on the sidelines].
“That’s what we do this season, we have good players and they need more minutes and they help us. It was the same against Baroka and Mabasa came in and he scored.”
Being in the line-up for more games in this campaign would be an improvement for Mabasa who managed to start just eight league games in 22 games last season which was his debut for Pirates.
Mabasa’s two goals have come from the 38 minutes he has managed to be on the pitch so far this season.
It is yet to be seen if Zinnbauer would hand him a full game when they visit Cape Town City for Saturday’s league showdown.
With Frank Mhango back from injury and Zakhele Lepasa also in good form, Zinnbauer could be facing a possible headache on who to start upfront.
If DR Congo striker Jean-Marc Makusu obtains his work permit, it would further provide a selection puzzle for the German.
When Mhango and Mabasa were injured, Lepasa was being deployed as a lone striker and never showed any signs of struggling.
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