Orlando Pirates will be anxious to avoid the humiliation of the previous campaign, in which Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy eliminated them from the CAF Champions League as early as the second preliminary round in September.
In the first preliminary round of the CAF Champions League, the Pirates and Madagascar’s Disciples FC will play a second-leg match tonight.
The first leg ended in a goalless draw between the two teams last week.
Disciples remain a closed book
On paper, the Buccaneers should have clobbered the Islanders, but they have now made life a little difficult for themselves by not registering at least an away goal.
The scenes from last season, where Bucs players fell on the pitch and cried uncontrollably after Jwaneng Galaxy’s victory, are still fresh in the minds of the Pirates faithful supporters.
They would not want a repeat tonight at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto. Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
After the first leg at the Côte d’Or National Sports Complex in Mauritius ended without a goal, the tie is in the balance going into the return match in Orlando.
The only thing that is known about the current Madagascar champions, Disciples, is that they have won their last two league games and are expected to win the league in 2023–2024.
The last time Disciples lost was in the middle of June, when they lost to Zanak’ala, a top-tier rival, 5-3 on aggregate after winning easily in the home leg of the Pro League play-offs.
Therefore, with a spot in the final preliminary round up for grabs, they will be trying to follow in Galaxy’s footsteps and pull off a major upset on the continental scene.
Pirates are clear favourites
The Pirates are the clear favourites and should easily defeat the minnows after winning their MTN8 semi-final match in Orlando against SuperSport United.
If they prevail, the 1995 African champions will play the African Stars or the Jwaneng Galaxy for a spot in the group stages.
New Bucs signings Deano van Rooyen and Gilberto could be nearing their official debuts after sitting out the trip to Mauritius.
The midfielders Thuso Moleleki and Selaelo Rasebotja, who were both benched on Sunday, could also be playing for the first time in the Soweto Giants uniform.
After suffering an ankle injury prior to the MTN8 quarterfinal, Miguel Timm is expected to make a comeback to the pitch, but other players like Tapelo Xoki and Goodman Mosele are still out.
