TFG SoccerClub looks back at the career of former Orlando Pirates striker Lesley ‘Slow Poison’ Manyathela, who would have turned 39 years old on 4 September.

Manyathela, who was born in 1981 and hailed from the Limpopo Province, was one of the greatest strikers ever to grace South African football.

He established himself as a feared striker in South Africa and scored 48 goals in 73 appearances for Pirates, and was the league’s top goal-scorer during the 2002-03 campaign. He was the last player to score over 30 goals in one season.

However, the Bafana Bafana striker tragically passed away in a car crash in August 2003 at the age of 21, on his way home after a Supa Eight match against Jomo Cosmos.

Manyathela had just returned from trials in Europe and scored the consolation goal for Pirates in their 2-1 defeat by Cosmos at the Rand Stadium.

The striker was on his way to his hometown Musina to spend some time with his mother. The accident is believed to have occurred some 30km outside Musina.

‘Slow Poison’, as he was affectionately known, was on the verge of securing a lucrative deal with leading Ukranian club Dynamo Kiev at the time.

Manyathela represented his country at national level on five occasions after making his debut on 20 March 2002 in an international friendly against Saudi Arabia. The star striker went on to feature in games against Georgia, Botswana, Swaziland and Senegal.

The prolific goal-scorer had a flourishing career at the national U23 Amaglug-glug where he appeared in 13 international matches with six goals to his credit. He also made five appearances in the national U20 in the Cosafa Castle Cup and scored one goal for Amajita.

His passing leaves a huge void not only in the Pirates team, but also in South African football as a whole.