Orlando Pirates forward Gabadinho Mhango feels his debut for the Buccaneers was memorable after bagging his first goal at the famous Orlando Stadium.

The 26-year-old forward came off the bench to score and help the Sea Robbers secure a 3-1 victory over Bloemfontein Celtic in their opening Absa Premiership encounter of the new season.

The Malawi international was also recently named in Milutin Sredojevic’s 28-man squad for their upcoming Caf Champions League preliminary round clash with Zambian side Green Eagles on Saturday.

Mhango is one of nine new faces at Pirates, and one of only two to have made debuts last weekend – with another former Celtic player, Kabelo Dlamini, the other.

‘Like I have said before, coming to a team like Orlando Pirates a player understands the weight of expectations that comes with donning that jersey,’ Mhango told the club’s website.

‘The night was made even more special that it was played at Orlando Stadium – a place where a lot of history has been made, and most importantly we were able to get what we set out to achieve by collecting maximum points for our opening game of the season.

‘For me personally, it was a great feeling coming on and scoring in front of the home fans. It was an important game for us, and we needed to start things right. I’ve been looking forward to playing for a big team since I arrived in South Africa and to finally get the chance at Pirates is a big achievement and one that I am very proud of.’

Mhango joins a list of Malawian footballers to have donned the famous black-and-white colours of Pirates, which includes the likes of Joseph Kamwendo, Chikuepo Msowoyo and Ernest Mtawali, who played for the Buccaneers between 2000 and 2003, respectively.

‘Wow, the legend Mtawali, what a player! I never watched him play but everyone in Malawi knows about him, he is a big name back home. I get the feeling that the people back home are very excited about me joining this club because there have been many messages of support, which is a wonderful feeling. Before the Carling Black Label Cup and ahead of the Celtic game, my phone was very busy!

‘I am in touch with the likes of Msowoyo and Kamwendo as well, and they tell me a bit about how things went for them here. But for me, it’s all about hearing their advice and also plotting my own path which will hopefully lead to great things and also make Malawians proud,’ he concluded.