Pirates looking for positive result in Libya
“Flying to North Africa is always difficult because you have to connect through other countries and the flight duration (is long), when you look at South Africa on the map you will see how far we are," said the Pirates defender.
Thulani Hlatshwayo has apologised to the Orlando Pirates technical team and his teammates for his costly mistakes. (Picture: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix)
Orlando Pirates defender Thulani Hlatshwayo says they will need to be tactically and defensively good in their clash with Libyan side Al-Ahli Benghazi when the sides meet in the Caf Confederation Cup at Martyrs of Benina Stadium on Sunday.
With the long travel to the North African country, the Buccaneers and Bafana defender thanked the club for getting the team in Libya in time to adapt to the environment ahead of their tough Group A encounter.
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“Flying to North Africa is always difficult because you have to connect through other countries and the flight duration (is long), when you look at South Africa on the map you will see how far we are. We really appreciate the team for getting us in time (arriving in time) so that we can acclimatise to the environment and have a session before the game,” said Hlatshwayo.
“We’ve seen with the first game that we played against ES Setif (playing away is difficult). For us, we need to get a result and with the experience that we have and the players that have been in the competition before, what we need to do is to make sure that we get a result. Whether it’s a point or three points. We have to make sure that tactically and defensively we are good.”
Pirates will become the first team to play in Libya after seven years due to the country’s banning of international matches.
Coach Josef Zinnbauer’s charges have already played two games in the group and they have managed to collect four points.
At the moment, Bucs top the standings having played to a draw against Algerian club Setif away from home and getting maximum points in their clash with Nigeria’s Enyimba. Meanwhile, Benghazi are third in the group with three points after registering a win against the Algerians and losing their match agaisnt Enyimba, who are second on the group while the Algerians occupy the last spot on the mini-log.
Pirates will go into this tie eager to get back to winning ways especially after losing their 10 games unbeaten streak to their rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the DStv Premiership before the international break.
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