EXCLUSIVE | Jerry Sikhosana doubts hat-trick repeat as Soweto Derby double looms

THE last player to score a hat-trick in the Soweto Derby nearly three decades ago is sitting pretty as the country anticipates a double dose of the biggest match in the land, content that his position is not at risk.

Jerry Sikhosana is among the few players to have found the net three times in one match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, the man they called Legs of Thunder doing so in the 1996 BobSave Super Bowl semi-final won 4-1 by the Buccaneers.

Ahead of this weekend’s sold-out Betway Premiership tie at the FNB Stadium that will be followed by the Nedbank Cup final between the two sides at Durban, Sikhosana says he does not foresee any of the players emulating him.

“I don’t think anyone will come close (to scoring a hat-trick) in these upcoming two derbies,” Sikhosana says matter-of-factly.

“I hope there’s a player who reads this and says ‘I want to prove him wrong’. If they do it, then I will be happy because we need that.”

It is not that Sikhosana underestimates the current lot, far from it for the man who scored that single goal which helped Orlando Pirates beat Asec Mimosas 1-0 to send the Ivory Coast into mourning in the 1995 CAF Champions Cup final has some favourites.

“Maybe Relebohile (Mofokeng of Pirates) is the one who could try. And, of course there have been some players who scored a brace and maybe they have the potential.”

So why then does he feel his ‘reign’ is not threatened?

The answer is in his perceived mentality of the current players.

“The thing for me is that these youngsters are happy to score one goal,” Sikhosana said.

“When they score a second their heads blow out and they think they are the best. That’s where they lose the energy to score because suddenly they want to showboat.

"They want to turn around with the ball. I did not have that when I played. All I wanted to do was to score goals.”

He believes his generation was not that much different from those who came before them.

“We had a little bit of Ace Ntsoelengoe and Jomo Sono. We had their mentality a bit.

"We wanted to win by as big a margin as possible. But these ones, they make 360° turn; they do the show me your number; stop the ball and put a knee on it and all those other kinds of showboating. That’s why I don’t think we’ll see a hat-trick.”

And overall, what kind of match is he anticipating?

“I don’t think there’s going to be anything extraordinary in the first derby. Every player wants to be in the final, so they are not going to give an all out attack because they will have their eye on the Nedbank Cup final. So, I am expecting a moderate game this weekend.”

The fact that Pirates are looking to chase Mamelodi Sundowns all the way in the championship race and Chiefs are eager to make the top eight, won’t that lead to a fiery match?

“That might be a factor, especially for Pirates who are also hurting from that Champions League semi-final loss (to Pyramids FC of Egypt) and I think it will give them a slight edge.

“Yes Pirates’ advantage will be that they are keen to win the points so they keep the championship hopes alive. So I can give them a slight edge. But I I don’t expect them to give this one all they’ve got.

"The mentality of the players always changes when the derby comes. But with two derbies in a week, things are going to be different and I think they will all want to give the final a huge push.”

So, don't go betting on the Soweto derby producing a hat-trick, at least not these upcoming two.