Orlando Pirates legend praises Patrick Maswanganyi after Bafana Bafana clash against Congo-Brazzaville - 'He looked decent'

Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Benedict Vilakazi has reserved some praise for Bucs star Patrick Maswanganyi after his 'decent' performance for Bafana Bafana. 

Tito, as the fan favourite star is nicknamed, replaced Zwane in the second half during South Africa's draw against Congo-Brazzaville in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Tuesday. 

While many criticised Maswanganyi, Vilakazi has insisted the star had a good performance and believes he will get better as time goes by. 

"He looked decent. He had good touches. It's just that you know when you make a mistake, we will be on your case especially when we see that the game is so tight," Vilakazi said, as quoted by iDiski Times.

"When you get that opportunity or even half a chance you need to make it count. He had a decent game, he didn’t lose balls too much. He was there controlling the ball, and he had good passes.

"He was supposed to compliment his game by tapping in from that cross which I believe was the only chance we had. He had a decent game, and I think the more he’s going to play he’ll get used to the guys, get used to the system, get used to playing," continued the former Bucs star.

"That’s why it’s so important for our teams to play CAF games. You can see that if he was used to playing on a high tempo against the guys in Africa it was going to be easier for him," he added.

"I mean you could see at times he made some runs to chase where he wasn’t supposed to chase. It tells you that the experience of not playing in CAF also counts but I’m happy with his performance."

Maswanganyi, 26, has been making headlines since the start of the season with his extraordinary rise to the top in the colours of Pirates. 

However, he finds it difficult to live up to expectations when he plays for the Hugo Broos-led team. 

On the other hand, the Belgian mentor confirmed that Zwane will be out of action for weeks. This means he will probably be unavailable in the November international break. 

Maswanganyi will be hoping to be selected by Broos for the November international break where Bafana will be facing Uganda and South Sudan in the Afcon qualifiers.

Should Zwane not return in time, the Buccaneers star might get a chance to prove his doubters wrong. 

For now, the Tembisa-born player will be looking to help Pirates beat Magesi FC in the Carling Knockout Cup last 16 clash on Saturday.