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Eddie Chikamhi Senior Sports Reporter
WARRIORS winger Kuda Mahachi has insisted he did not fail at South African Premiership football giants Orlando Pirates when he made the decision to cross the floor to SuperSport  United where he hopes to reproduce his best form under Zimbabwean coach Kaitano Tembo.

The 25-year-old striker told the South African media that he had to move to the Tshwane giants to increase his chances of getting game time after he had struggled to nail down a place in Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic’s side last season.

Mahachi was officially released by Pirates last month, having made only 11 PSL appearances and scoring three goals in his single season with the Buccaneers.

Lack of game time almost cost him a place in the Warriors squad for the 2019 African Cup of Nations in Egypt. The former Chicken Inn star was also kept on the bench in most games in the qualifying campaign and at some point failed to make it into the final squad.

He played a small part for Zimbabwe at the AFCON finals where he was involved in a social media outburst against coach Sunday Chidzambwa’s decision to leave him out of his selection.

Mahachi only played the last 10 minutes of the Warriors’ last Group A game against DR Congo at AFCON which they lost 0-4.

Prospects at Pirates still looked dull and Mahachi told the South African media that he jumped at the opportunity of joining SuperSport United because he wanted to play regular football.

“For me, the important thing is to play football so when I move to SuperSport it was about playing.

“When they told me that SuperSport wants me, I jumped at the opportunity, as you know at Pirates there is too much competition and I wanted to play football so I had to take the decision,” Mahachi told The Citizen.

Mahachi joined Pirates before the start of the 2018-19 season following a successful stint with modest Durban side Lamontville Golden Arrows.

The 25-year-old player also had a stint with giants Mamelodi Sundowns where he was also deemed excess baggage.

He is now looking to revive his career at SuperSport where he will also link-up with compatriots Evans Rusike and Onismor Bhasera.

“I didn’t feel like I failed at Pirates because SuperSport United is also a big team. But I was a bit disappointed at the same time that I didn’t do more than what I wanted to do when I got to Pirates from Lamontville Golden Arrows.”

Mahachi made his debut for SuperSport when they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Sundowns in their opening 2019-20 PSL match last weekend. They have a date against Pirates tonight.

SuperSport United have also revealed they turned down an offer from Kaizer Chiefs for Zimbabwean striker Evans Rusike.

Rusike has been on Amakhosi’s radar for a while now and with Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp having previously worked with the forward at Maritzburg United, the attempt to lure Rusike to Naturena was not surprising.

But SuperSport believe the 29-year-old still has a big role to play in the club’s efforts to get back to winning trophies.

SuperSport CEO Stanley Matthews explained the club rejected Chiefs’ advances as the Tshwane-based outfit are not ready to part with their star striker.

“Yes, Chiefs wanted Rusike, but we turned them down. We are not looking to sell any of our forwards. We are looking to buy strikers,” Matthews told IOL.

Rusike scored five Absa Premiership goals for Supersport last season having featured in 24 matches and was handed the club’s Golden Boot award.

There are high hopes the lanky forward will blossom again this season. Rusike is also expected to play a role in Zimbabwe’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers which begin next month against minnows Somalia.