Lorch grateful of Ghost support during five months injury layoff

Orlando Pirates attacking midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch has explained the frustration he endured during his difficult five months with an injury.

Lorch marked his return to the starting line-up with a goal as the Buccaneers defeated All Stars 2-0 on Saturday at Milpark Stadium to advance to the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup.

He sustained a knee injury in August last year during Pirates' match against SuperSport United at Lucas Moripe Stadium.

But he came on as a sub on Saturday for the first time to inspire the club to victory and advance to the next round. “It wasn’t easy for me, you know, coming back from the injury, five months, I think, without playing football,” Lorch explained to the club media department.

“I want to thank my family for the support, the technical team. The physio of the team for pushing me, it wasn’t easy.”

The 29-year-old feels the goal he scored on Saturday will boost his confidence as he looks to help his side finish higher on the DStv Premiership table and go all the way in the Nedbank Cup.

“Sitting on the bench helped me a lot. I was watching the game, analysing the match, and I saw that All Stars were running all over, the coach told me that I must find the spaces, I must find the pockets,” he said.

“If you check the first goal, I was in that half-pocket, then I passed the ball to Zuka [Terrence Dzvukamanja] and he crossed to [Monnapule] Saleng. So it was important for me to score, especially coming back from injury as that will boost my confidence going forward.

“What I will tell the supporters is that they must keep on supporting me. It is not easy to always get injured and come back stronger. Their support means a lot to me and I will keep on working hard for them.”

Meanwhile, Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi said Lorch’s creativity will help the team in the remaining matches. “Lorch is an important part of Pirates, he is a good player and I’m just happy that he had minutes today (Saturday) from a long-term injury,” Ncikazi said.

“I just hope he grows from what he did today. He will be a great input to the team. There are still tough matches coming along and I think he will help the team very much.”