Saleng is on loan at the newly promoted side. Along with fellow Pirates loanees Yanga Madiba and Thuso Moleleki, he is not permitted to play against their parent club, as stipulated in the loan agreement.
Orbit lost 1-0 to Orlando Pirates after Lebone Seema scored from outside the box in the 56th minute. Orbit now sits 14th in the Betway Premiership with three points.
Makhoye admitted that it was a letdown not to have Saleng in the lineup, having been featured in all three of their opening games, but also stressed that they were aware of his unavailability, as it was part of the loan agreement.
“I think it didn’t even disturb us because we knew when we got them on loan that when we play Pirates, they won’t play. So we’re talking about only one player who has been on the starting 11 for the past three games,” said Makhoye.
“It’s not like the other two, they’ve been part of the starting 11. So, we always had a plan. We knew Saleng was not going to be part of this, and it never distracted us.
He was here today supporting the team because he also knew that he wouldn’t play. I think being here also helps them to motivate them to say we can perform, and he really performed tonight,” he continued.
Makhoye said being on the bench at Orlando against the Buccaneers was a dream come true for him, as he had long aspired to go toe-to-toe with Pirates at their home ground.
“It was always a dream one day to come here and coach in this beautiful stadium. I was with my GM and assistant coach last season when we were watching Pirates playing SuperSport in the MTN8. I said to him, I want next season to be in this dugout and it was every player’s dream to come here,” he added.
The coach lauded his squad for the performance and added that he is hopeful that they will continue with it in their next game against TS Galaxy on Saturday.
“I think today we came in and we express ourselves and we we’re happy. We’re not even nervous. So, we hope this performance not only against Pirates, we can take this performance also in the games that are coming.