WeeklySA_AdminMTN8 SEMI-FINALS: PIRATES TO MAKE STELLIES PAY FOR LOSS IN DSTV PREMIERSHIP MATCH
By Ali Mphaki
Fresh from a pre-season tour of Spain, the Pirates of Orlando were brought down to mother earth when they suffered a crushing 1-nil defeat at the hands of Stellenbosch FC in both team’s first match of the DStv Premiership in August.
The loss really hurt. It still does more so since Pirates had made the faster start to the encounter and they came closest to scoring in the opening 30 minutes when Monnapule Saleng struck the crossbar from a powerful effort from the edge of the box.
A draw at least would have been less painful for the Bucs more so since Pirates had made the faster start to the encounter and they came closest to scoring in the opening 30 minutes when Monnapule Saleng struck the crossbar from a powerful effort from the edge of the box.
That missed opportunity, however, was capitalised on at the other end soon after when Stellies’ Antonio van Wyk latched onto a through ball from Fawaaz Basadien and fired his side into the lead, slotting the ball through the legs of Bucs ‘keeper Sipho Chaine and into the back of the net.
“We knew that they would have a lot of possession and move the ball around well, which they did, but we held our structure well and looked dangerous in transition. That was always going to be the key element in us getting one over Pirates, and I’m really proud of the hard work the players put in during the pre-season,” said head coach Steve Barker lauding his side’s tactical discipline and the impact the club’s new signings made on debut.
Barker fielded three debutants in his run-on XI in the form of Thabo Moloisane, Ismael Toure, and Genino Palace, and watched as his side defended valiantly at the back and as effectively on transition against their opponents from Soweto during the early stages of the match.
“That’s history,” retorts Bucs coach Jose Riveiro confident that his Orlando Pirates side have learned their lesson from a league defeat to Stellenbosch FC at the beginning of the season and are now ready to face the Cape club again at the weekend.
Riveiro insists that their defeat at the hands of Stellenbosch will serve as a motivation for his troops when the two sides meet on Sunday.
“It already seems like we have played against them six months ago but it was just a few weeks ago.
“I think we played a good game [when they lost to Stellenbosch] like I said several times already in Stellenbosch. But not good enough to get the results we were looking for.
“Now, the MTN8 draw has given us an opportunity to play them again very soon rather than waiting for the second leg in the league in Orlando.”
The 47-year-old coach was speaking during the MTN8 press conference at the PSL headquarters on Thursday.
The game will take place at Athlone Stadium, with the game set to kick-off at 15:00.
Published on the 114th Edition
