Rapoo on where he beats Hotto & Ndaba at Orlando Pirates

Neo Rapoo made his Orlando Pirates debut on Saturday in the 2-0 Premier Soccer League win over newcomers Milford FC at the Orlando Amstel Arena.

The 20-year-old replaced Deon Hotto in the 75th minute and went on to show what he is bringing to the Soweto giants. However, apart from Hotto, Rapoo will have to beat Nkosikhona Ndaba as well for a starting position at the left-back position.

Rapoo – who was signed by Bucs alongside Mthetheleli Mthiyane (Stellenbosch FC), Sbangani Zulu (Richards Bay), Bohale Ngwato (Siwelele) Ghampani Lungu (Siwelele), Neo Rapoo (Siwelele), Aphiwe Baliti (Siwelele) & Matome Mmolai (Leicesterford City), and Sebastian Pedersen (Sogndal Fotball, Norway) – has conceded it will be a tough competition.

Nevertheless, he remains confident of getting regular football owing to his effectiveness in taking free kicks.

Rapoo determined to beat Hotto, Ndaba

“Of course I’m still learning as a young footballer and learning a lot from Hotto, who has been at the club for a long time, but I do feel that with the quality of set pieces I can produce, I may stand out a bit,” Rapoo told Pirates’ media team.

“Of course they are both top players that I can learn from as well. I’m ⁠just a young boy from Rustenburg that wants to be part of the club’s history and contribute with set-piece goals plus a lot of assists and goals just to get maximum points for the club and make the fans happy.”

Initially, Rapoo rubbed shoulders with some players who are now with the Sea Robbers. The youngster has explained how that has helped him settle at the club.

“Playing with (Oswin) Appollis, Tito (Patrick Maswanganyi), Thalente (Mbatha) and others at SuperSport and coming here with (Bohlale) Ngwato and (Gamphani) Lungu – it just felt good to be there,” he concluded.