Orlando Pirates will be looking to consolidate their grip at the top of the DStv Premiership table at the expense of Maritzburg United, whom they meet at Harry Gwala Stadium this afternoon. Kick-off is at 5:30pm.
Before yesterday’s round of matches, Pirates had taken an early lead in this long marathon and they will want to use Maritzburg as a water point to keep things steady in their surge. Under coach Jose Riveiro, the Buccaneers are rejuvenated, and they did just enough to knock Royal AM out of the MTN8 quarter-finals last week.
Pirates have played six matches already, one more compared to other clubs, and as the old adage says, points in the bag are better than games in hand. They have amassed 11 points after three wins, two draws and a single loss.
What will be of serious concern for the Team of Choice is that they are not finishing off their opponents and that they are playing too many draws. They have six points after the same number of matches. They have played three stalemates, won one match and lost two and that should worry their new coach John Maduka.
Yesterday, they were number 10 on the log standings – this is not bad for a team that is always staring relegation in the face. They lost their last league encounter 1-0 to Royal AM after Motebang Sera scored for “MaMkhize’s” club.
One thing that will worry the Buccaneers is that they are limping and walking wounded. Deon Hotto joined the list after a groin injury, and he is being assessed by the Pirates doctors.
Thembinkosi Lorch, who missed the past two games, may have to pass a late fitness test. However, Kabelo Dlamini and Tapelo Xoki trained with the team this past week and should be back in contention. The duo missed the game against
Royal AM. Terrence Dzvukamanja and Evidence Makgopa still have not played a single match this season and are still receiving treatment from the medical team.
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