Royal AM’s Matlaba targeting a win against Pirates

Royal AM will host Orlando Pirates in what is expected to be a thrilling DStv Premiership clash at the Harry Gwala Stadium on Sunday.

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The game is set to kick off at 3pm.

Thwihli Thwahla come into this clash on the back of a two-match unbeaten run, having edged Polokwane City 3-2 before drawing 1-1 with Golden Arrows in the KZN derby.

The Buccaneers are also unbeaten in their last three league games and have collected seven points in the process. They drew 1-1 against Moroka Swallows before hammering Arrows 7-1 and edging AmaZulu 1-0 in their last two matches.

Royal AM utility player Thabo Matlaba is expecting a tough game against Pirates, but adds that they’re targeting a victory in this match in order to increase their chances of finishing in the top eight of the DStv Premiership standings.

“This is one of our biggest games of the season. A very difficult game because Orlando Pirates are on form. They won 7-1 against Golden Arrows, they won against AmaZulu 4-2 in the Nedbank Cup and they beat them again 1-0 in the league,” Matlaba told Phakaaathi.

“So, I don’t think that it’s going to be an easy game for us, but we’ve been working hard to win this game so that we can be in the top eight and that’s what we want, to finish in the top eight. And we’re not far from achieving that because a win in this game against Pirates will take us to 32 points and that will take us straight into the top eight.

“This is a big game and doesn’t need any motivation because we’re playing against a big club with good players. That’s a motivation by itself. We need to work hard, commit ourselves, be aggressive and compete against those players. That’s what we’ll need to win this game,” added the former Pirates defender.

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“They’re coming here at Harry Gwala and it’s not going to be easy for them, plus we’ve just come from a 3-2 win over Polokwane City at the same venue and we also drew 1-1 with Arrows away. So I think we’re on the right track and we’ve been playing well to be honest in those two games. We showed that we can score goals and I think we had night shots on target against Arrows, so we’re improving in that aspect of our game,” commented Matlaba.