Felipe Ovono 6
In the first few minutes of the match, Ayanda Gcaba and Siyabonga Sangweni looked vulnerable on counter-attacks and Ovono did very little to organise his defence. He had a shaky moment with Sangweni that almost resulted in a goal although in the 39th minute he made a good save from a well-taken free-kick. Although he had little chance of stopping the equaliser, he could have been braver.
Happy Jele 6.5
A decent match from Jele after a long lay-off with injury. In the 15th minute he overlapped and put in a good cross that was blocked for a corner. He was unlucky when he headed a free-kick into the path of an opponent for the equalising goal, but he could have done better.
Siyabonga Sangweni 6
The Pirates centre-backs looked very shaky throughout the match except in dealing with long balls. The defence gave away silly free-kicks and paid the price for the equalising goal. After 30 minutes played Sangweni’s miscommunication with Ovono almost led to a goal conceded and in the 60th minute he also gave away a silly free-kick on the edge of the box and was lucky when it struck the upright.
Ayanda Gcaba 6.5
Gcaba was casual in the early stages of the match – at one point he luckily flicked the ball over an opponent and got away with it. But the defender dealt well with long-balls pumped into the box and held his own in one-on-one situations.
Thabo Matlaba 7
Another good performance from the Pirates left-back. Matlaba started the match attacking but Etoile had two players on him to stop him from cutting inside. In the 35th minute he got into Gabuza’s path on the six-yard line after a great pass from Erasmus and ballooned the ball over the bar. In the 37th minute he overlapped, cut inside and laid a perfect pass for Gabuza to score.
READ: Tinkler rues Matlaba miss
Mpho Makola 7
The Pirates midfielder tried to take initiative by creating spaces and taking on players with very little support. In the 54th minute he should have done better when he received a pass on the left and tried to beat a defender instead of shooting or passing. But Makola did well with his defensive duties and tracked down his opponents to cover Matlaba.
Thandani Ntshumayelo 6
Ntshumayelo tried his best to hold his own against the physical Etoile midfielders and fought hard until the end. In the 29th minute the midfielder made a silly mistake when he gave away the ball that led to a counter-attack and an opportunity to score, and his marking was also lacking when Etoile scored.
Lehlogonolo Masalesa 6
The lanky midfielder struggled right through the match against the Etoile midfielders and Issa Sarr would have been a better option for the position. He made very little impact and forced Ntshumayelo do double up on defensive duties as well as initiating attacks.
Thabo Rakhale 6
Rakhale was in and out of the match and his great chance to make a difference came in the 64th minute when he received pass wide on the right. Instead of crossing to an unmarked Gabuza, Rakhale struck the ball against a defender. With the Tunisians with more ball possession, Rakhale spent most of the second half defending.
*Thamsanqa Gabuza 8
Once again drifted wide and played more like a winger instead of staying at centre-forward. In the 13th minute he made a great run and put in a good cross but unfortunately there was no-one to finish it off. And of course he scored a great goal with his left foot – probably the best of his career – after receiving a pass from Matlaba.
Kermit Erasmus 6
Erasmus did well playing off defenders, dropping into midfield to create spaces. But the striker was frustrated as he was tightly marked and received no support. In the first half he made a great pass for Gabuza, only for Matlaba to cut in front of the striker and waste the chance.
Issa Sarr
Sarr arrived late from international duty and paid for that by starting on the bench. He came on for Masalesa in the 82nd minute, too little time for a rating.
Gift Motupa
Motupa came on for Erasmus in the 89th minute.