Former Orlando Pirates forward Thembinkosi Lorch has been lauded for his industrious performance for Wydad Athletic Club in their FIFA Club World Cup match against Premier League giants Manchester City.
Phil Foden scored inside two minutes and wing Jeremy Doku was also on target as Manchester City cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win in their opening match. But it was South African Lorch who ended up being the talk of the town.
The clash against City was always going to be a big ask for Wydad, whose coach Amine Benhachem was only appointed in the run-up to the Club World Cup after replacing former Mamelodi Sundowns boss Rhulani Mokwena.
However, they showed some spirit, led by a lively display from Lorch up front
Wydad, who qualified as a recent winner of the CAF Champions League, did have chances to give their passionate support something to celebrate.
When new Man City signing Rayan Cherki gave the ball away cheaply, Lorch produced an audacious attempt to beat Ederson from inside his own half. However, the Brazilian goalkeeper made the save.
Lorch set up fellow South African Cassius Mailula after some skilful play, but the former Sundowns man squandered the opportunity.
After the match, former Bafana Bafana stars and SuperSport pundits Shaun Bartlett and Bongani Khumalo praised Lorch’s performance against such formidable opponents.
“He had quite a productive day on the field. I was quite disappointed when they took him off, obviously managing him as a player,” Bartlett said during SuperSport TV’s live broadcast.
“But I think overall he tried his best. He was all over the pitch, being influential, taking shots from long range and even setting up Cassius [Mailula] in the first half. I think it was just that final product that never came for Wydad.”
Lorch was substituted in the second half, but Khumalo believes the move was to keep the player fresh ahead of their next assignments against Juventus and Al Ain.
“Wonderful start from him. He truly is an important player for Wydad,” Khumalo added. “If he stays fit, I think his coach was saving his legs for the next fixture for him to go for it. City were in the lead, the game sort of died out, so saving his legs, keeping his energy alive, it’s tournament football.
“Three games go by very quickly; it’s a game every three days. It’s important to remain fresh.”
Additional reporting by AFP
IOL Sport
