Pirates eye Baroka revenge
The last time the sides met Bakgaga denied Bucs a trophy when they won 3-2 on penalties to be crowned Telkom Knockout champions in December.
Milutin Sredojevic , coach of Orlando Pirates with Fadlu Davids, Assistant coach of Orlando Pirates at the Orlando Stadium. (Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix)
Orlando Pirates have put their Caf Champions League Group B victory over Horoya AC behind them as they now shift their focus back into the domestic league where they host Baroka FC at Orlando Stadium tonight.
Micho Sredojevic’s charges re-assured their fans that they are going all out in the continental competition when they whipped Horoya 3-0 on Friday in Soweto, which put them level on four points in the standings with Tunisia’s Esperance, but Pirates top the group on goal difference.
Pirates will be confident, but they will be cautious knowing the Limpopo side are capable of pulling off an upset. The last time the sides met Bakgaga denied Bucs a trophy when they won 3-2 on penalties to be crowned Telkom Knockout champions in December.
Bucs are in the race for the Absa Premiership title and head into this game on 31 points after 17 games, three points behind leaders Bidvest Wits, who are on 34 points and have played one game more.
READ: Micho explains why Pirates appointed Fadlu Davids
With the team doing well in both continental and domestic league, Sredojevic doesn’t want to put pressure on his players.
“We follow the philosophy of when it’s good, do not fly and when it’s bad, do not give up. We are happy and injected with the confidence we wanted, but we still have so much room to improve and develop,” he said.
“When you put the weight of pressure on your players their legs get locked, the players aren’t themselves and they don’t enjoy their football. We would rather look at each of our games as a measurement and test of how far we have gone as a team.”
Meanwhile Baroka, who are 15th on the league table, have only managed to win three games in their last 17 league matches, while registering eights losses and six draws. The team are fighting to get out of the relegation zone and they recently received the paperwork for their new striker Rodwell Chinyengetere.
“Zimbabwean international forward Rodwell Chinyengetere has received his work permit and is available for selection for the match against Orlando Pirates on Tuesday,” the club confirmed.
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