Pirates desperate for Lorch return ahead of Soweto Derby

Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer will be desperate to get forward Thembinkosi Lorch back onto the park in Saturday’s Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium. Catch the action live on SuperSport with live streaming through DStv and Showmax.

That is because of the remarkable record of the 27-year-old in derby matches since he joined the Pirates squad midway through the 2016/17 season after his loan at Chippa United was cut short.

Lorch has been in and out of the Buccaneers side this season with injury, but they will be hopeful of having him back for the weekend to make another major impact in a derby fixture.

He has five goals and three assists in 10 starts against Chiefs, the most effective attacking player over that period on either side.

His first derby goal came in a handsome 3-1 victory in March 2018, before he netted in both the Telkom Knockout clash (3-1) and league (1-1) the following season.

Lorch has also already scored twice against Chiefs this campaign, in the first leg of their MTN8 semifinal (3-0) and the 2-1 league victory that followed in January.

It is unclear whether he will return having been sidelined since late February with an ankle injury sustained in a 1-1 draw with SuperSport United.

He has four goals in 16 starts in all competitions this season, with two of those strikes coming against Chiefs. Five of his 25 goals for Pirates (20 per cent) in domestic football have come against the AmaKhosi.