Orlando Pirates in-form striker Zakhele Lepasa expressed his gratitude toward club chairman Dr. Irvin Khoza following his Man of the Match performance against Sekhukhune United.

The 26-year-old continued his fine form in front of goal for Pirates after scoring a hat-trick in their 5-0 victory over Sekhukhune United.

Their win at the Orlando Stadium saw the Buccaneers secure their place in the semi-finals of the top-eight competition.

Lepasa, who was also named Man of the Match, sent a message to the club’s chairman for his continuous support.

“I want to thank today for the opportunity, I also want to thank the chairman for believing in me,” Lepasa told SuperSport TV after the match.

“He’s the one who said you need to come back, we need you, you need to work harder. Because he knows what I’m capable of from playing in the development, how I used to score goals.

“He’s the one who expressed all this confidence in me. And the guys, the way that they welcomed me, like I never left. So I’m very happy.”

He added: “To be honest, this is probably the best team I’ve ever played with.

“I’m including everyone, even the ones who are not here yet. People are injured. Our squad is just out of this world.

“I’m just lucky to be at the finishing end of every move. Like I said this is a good squad, a lot of competition, I’m just doing my best to work hard.”

“It should’ve been four [goals]. I’m sad because I practice penalties every day and it’s one of those,” he added.

“But I promise you one thing, if we had another penalty today or if we have another penalty in the next game, I’m taking it, I promise you that.”

Photo by Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix