Thabang Monare Allegedly Slaps Ballboy As Orlando Pirates Draw at Richards Bay

• Thabang Monare was sent off without playing a minute after an incident with the ballboy
• Orlando Pirates failed to break down Richards Bay even with a full complement of players
• Jose Riveiro was critical of the reports about his team, maintaining they are playing well

No outlet on the field left tensions to spill over on the touchline. Orlando Pirates were held to an uninspiring draw by Richards Bay, with the Buccaneers' inability to hit the back of the net coming to the fore again.

Pirates have conceded the third-fewest goals in the DStv Premiership so far this season, but have lacked the sharpness in front of goal that coach, Jose Riveiro seeks.

The goalless 90 minutes will be remembered mainly for an off-the-field incident between Thabang Monare and a young volunteer ball retriever.

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Several Pirates players were warming up to the right of Richards Bay's goal approaching the end of the 90 minutes when the unexplained mismatch occurred.

The broadcasters have not shown any footage of the incident but photographers were able to catch the immediate aftermath.

The referee gave an angry Thabang Monare a red card, while the ballboy lay on the grass clutching his face, before being escorted away from the pitch.

The latter parts of the game were stagnated by Richards Bay who looked to wind done the clock with Siyanda Dlamini and Jackson Mabokgwane receiving yellow cards for time wasting.

After the game, Riviero lamented the disruptive tactics of his opponents, as quoted by SowetanLive:

"Usually the PSL games have many interruptions. If you want to interrupt the game 60 times, you can do it. It is fine. This really makes it difficult to have rhythm in games.”

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Riveiro admitted his team were goal-shy but insisted they were still playing well as a whole.

Orlando Pirates have five more league matches before the end of the calendar year, starting with Moroka Swallows on December 5.

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DStv Premiership Team of the Week

Sports Brief recently compiled a DStv Premiership Team of the Week for the November 26 weekend.

Kaizer Chiefs and Cape Town City had several impressive performers as did Royal AM and TS Galaxy.

Sage Stephens was the star in between the sticks with a crucial penalty save that secured three points.