Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou & Golden Arrows' player tipped to perform better than Patrick Maswanganyi and Themba Zwane for Bafana, both win PSL monthly awards

Orlando Pirates' coach Abdeslam Ouaddou had a perfect October with his Bucs team, who collected maximum points to underline their seriousness in challenging for the Premier Soccer League.

The former Morocco defender helped the Buccaneers to three wins out of three without conceding a single goal.

What impressed many is their style of play and the structure that made the opponents struggle to score against them.

The wins have pushed the Soweto giants to their current fourth position on the table with 19 points from the nine games that they have played, just three less than leaders Mamelodi Sundowns who have played two games more.

Golden Arrows attacker Siyanda Ndlovu won the Player of the Month Award owing to his exploits.

The versatile attacking midfielder played five domestic games with a return of three goals and as many assists.

His displays echoed the sentiments made by his Arrows' coach Manqoba Mngqithi, “It’s talent like this that defines our football in the country. When I look at him versus players that are in the national team or others that might have gotten opportunities to go outside the country, I’m saying, this boy deserves all that," he told the media.

“Technically, he’s unbelievable, physically, he’ll surprise you. He covers so much ground, high-intensity runs, sprints, distance; technically, he hardly makes a mistake. 

“He’s very clinical in front of goals, very clinical in his passing. He’s improved tremendously, creating situations for us and scoring critical goals for us.

“It suggests that he’s among the best talents we have in the country at the moment," Mngqithi concluded.

The talented finisher was also recognised for scoring the best goal in October that came in the 2-0 win against Stellenbosch.

He danced his way past a forest of Stellies players before finding the back of the net in the Premier Soccer League game that his team won 2-0.

It was a massive result ahead of the next PSL outing against Orlando Pirates at the King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday.

The win pushed them to eighth in the log with 16 points having played 11 games.

Bafana Bafana will start preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations that will be staged in Morocco from December 21st to January 18.

Initially, Themba Zwane has played that creative role and sometimes wide effectively, but has struggled with fitness since getting injured against Congo in October 2024 in the 2025 AFCON qualifier.

Patrick Maswanganyi came in as his replacement, but he has also struggled for consistency owing to injuries, leaving Broos with no choice but to draft Sipho Mbule in his team, since Relebohile Mofokeng has also struggled with injuries and not risen for the occasion when needed, especially this season.

Ndlovu might be the player to give Bafana Bafana what is needed, especially in that creative department.