Pirates happy to face AmaZulu in Durban home-away-from-home

Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro expects a healthy turnout of support for the Buccaneers when they travel to play AmaZulu in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals.

While the game is Usuthu’s home match, it is inevitable that there will be more Buccaneers supporters inside the ground, with the game likely to be played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, though the date and venue are still to be officially announced.

Defending champions Pirates are hoping to add the Nedbank Cup title to their MTN8 crown, which they won earlier in the season, beating Mamelodi Sundowns in the final. The Buccaneers will be heavy favourites to reach the semifinals – they have not lost to AmaZulu in any competition in over a decade.

“We know the difficulty of the task, but at the same time Durban is a place that has received us really well,” Riveiro told SuperSport TV after the draw took place in Johannesburg on Monday evening.

“There are a lot of Pirates fans there that will be happy with the draw and that come in their numbers for sure to support us. We know it will be difficult against AmaZulu, they are a good team, they are well organised. We will do as much as possible to try and offer a good performance.”

‘A relief to be here’

Pirates faced AmaZulu in the last 32 of the Nedbank Cup in 2022, with Deon Hotto getting the only goal of the game. Usuthu do not have a good Nedbank Cup record in recent times, last reaching the quarterfinals in 2012.

“It is a relief to be here,” AmaZulu’s current head coach Pablo Franco Martin told SuperSport TV.

“It has been 12 years since we were last here (in the quarterfinals) we are happy to represent Kwa-Zulu Natal and to face the reigning champions, that speaks for itself on the difficulty of the game. But we are playing at home, and with our fans (there) we are going to be competitive.”