Durban - Orlando Pirates midfielder Miguel Timm produced a man of the match performance as his side claimed the MTN8 against AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday evening.
Timm, who missed the Soweto Derby against arch rivals Kaizer Chiefs said after the final that that was was fuel for him to perform against Usuthu.
"I'm gonna be honest, it's sucked missing the derby, you can't compare watching at the stadium then being on the field so I got a bit of oomph at the beginning of the week to put in great effort and good preparations so that if I got the opportunity I would grab it with both hands, which appears to be the case today," he revealed to members of the media.
The 30-year-old midfielder ran the show in the middle of the park by winning his 50/50 battles against the likes of Makhehleni Makhaula and George Maluleka and also contributed hugely to his side's build up of attacks.
The 2022 edition of the MTN8 was Timm's second final in two seasons after he featured for Marumo Gallants in last season's Nedbank Cup defeat.
☠️ 🏆 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝟭𝟭𝗢𝗡𝗦 🏆
— Orlando Pirates FC (@orlandopirates) November 5, 2022
⚽️ FT || @orlandopirates 1 - 0 @AmaZuluFootball
🥅 25' Saleng
🎙 Man of the Match | @miguel_timm
🎙 Forward | @Erasmus_95
⚫⚪🔴⭐#Matchday #MTN8Champions#OrlandoPirates#OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/vdniqs0vCn
Having begun his football journey at the Buccaneers as a pre-adolescent, Timm’s career came full circle with his return to the club at the beginning of the season. Timm was emotional and was in tears after the final whistle at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
An obviously emotional team shared with members of the media how much it meant to him to have any success with the black and skull bones of the Sea Robbers.
"A lot of emotions ran through me (after the game), I'm so happy, this is the reason I came here and it feels like I'm dreaming but it's really happening. To win with a club like this, I can't compare it with anything so far in my career."
Although Pirates beat both Royal AM and Mamelodi Sundowns on their route to the final, two sides that finished above them in the league last season, Timm believes his side's MTN8 triumph doesn't give them much of an indication of how close they are to competing with Sundowns moving forward.
"It's too early to say, the league is a long way to be decided. But we have achieved one of our short-term goals today," he said.
"We don't think about how far off we are to them (Sundowns) we have our own goals as a team and we continue to work towards those on a daily basis."
@SmisoScribe