Pirates look to bounce back against Celtic
Kjell Jonevret is looking for his Orlando Pirates side to bounce back quickly as they continue their bid to squeeze into the top eight at Bloemfontein Celtic this evening.
Former Orlando Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret (Photo by Gallo Images)
The Buccaneers were unable to prove a thorn in the side of two title contenders last week, as they went down to both Bidvest Wits and Mamelodi Sundowns, the Brazilians cruising to a 2-0 win on Sunday afternoon.
Jonevret was not impressed with how easily his side allowed the opposition to score, labelling Sundowns’ opening goal from Khama Billiat as a “simple goal”.
Jonevret has also admitted to his side’s lack of skill in breaking down the defensive wall of well-organised sides.
“We need to work harder in the future to break down teams like these (Sundowns). We need to have good sessions and bounce back against Celtic … we need to have more players in and around the box.”
Phunya Sele Sele find themselves in a relegation battle, and scraped a point from a goalless draw with SuperSport United last Wednesday.
Lehlohonolo Seema’s side can pick up a surprise league double over Pirates with a win, having stunned the Buccaneers at Orlando Stadium just before Christmas, though Jonevret’s Bucs did beat Celtic more recently in the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup.
“It is going to be a tough game (against Celtic) and we have many of them now.” added Pirates’ Swedish coach.
“I watched (Kaizer) Chiefs against (Golden) Arrows, and they fought Chiefs to the last minute. I am prepared for the race until the end of the season because the difference between top and bottom teams is not that big. Hopefully we can have a great one.”
