Ngobeni return positive for Pirates

Orlando Pirates midfielder Clifford Ngobeni was pleased with his successful comeback from injury against Moroka Swallows 2-1 on Sunday.

The former Ajax Cape Town man previously last featured against Kaizer Chiefs in September, but produced a great performance as Bucs beat Moroka Swallows in the Telkom Knockout Cup.

“It was a tough game for me personally because I haven’t played for a while, and it was also a tough match for the team because we were facing difficult opponents,” Ngobeni told KickOff.com.

“Swallows showed when we played them (in the League) on Wednesday that they are a tough team, but we showed our fighting spirit and won.”

“Before the match the coach told me that I’m an experienced player and I shouldn’t think about the fact that I haven’t played for a long time. I followed his instructions and they worked.”

Since joining Pirates at the start of the 2010-11 season, Ngobeni has been finding it difficult to break into the starting XI made up of Andile Jali, Oupa Manyisa and Isaac Chansa.

But with Jali likely to go to the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers at the end of November, Ngobeni is hoping to to keep his place in the team.

“I don’t know about Jali going to the Olympic qualifiers; no-one has discussed that with me. But what I can tell you is that I will fight for my place in the team regardless.”