Pirates can’t afford to sit on lead in Suez

GONE ARE the days when a trip to Egypt had South African teams quivering in their boots.

When they head to Cairo for the second leg of their semi-final tie against Al Ahly at the weekend, Orlando Pirates will do so with the confidence they can return home victorious.

And it won’t be merely via keeping the Red Devils at bay, but through adding to the goal they scored in the first leg at Orlando Stadium on Saturday night, to win 1-0. Thamsanqa Gabuza netted in the ninth minute.

This, at least, is the belief of defender Rooi Mahamutsa, who captained the Buccaneers to a 1-0 first leg victory that sees Pirates one step closer to a spot in the Caf Confederation Cup final.

“For us, going to Egypt we know how hard they are. But it won’t be difficult to beat them. If we focus, we can come back with a win. And we’re looking forward to scoring goals there.”

Having performed splendidly alongside Ayanda Gcaba in the heart of the Pirates defence to stop Al Ahly from scoring, Mahamutsa was quick to make his teammates aware there’s a job still to be done.

At the end of the match when they gathered in their customary huddle at the centre of the pitch, the experienced Mahamutsa put things into perspective for Pirates.

“After the game, the guys were so happy, but I told them they should not be too happy because we are just one leg in,” Mahamutsa revealed at the post-match conference “I told them we still need to (win) the second one. So we must remain focused.”

This should not be a problem, Pirates not having the distraction of domestic matches ahead of the second leg in Suez, two hours out of Cairo, on Sunday.

And like Mahamutsa, coach Eric Tinkler is not going to allow any slacking from his charges.

While pleased with the result and the performance, Tinkler has no intention of going to north Africa to protect the lead.

“I explained to the players that we cannot sit back and absorb the pressure because they are an extremely good team. Our approach should not be any different,” he said in response to a question about whether Pirates would be “parking the bus” in the second leg.

That kind of approach would be suicidal against an Ahly side that is sure to throw everything bar the proverbial kitchen sink at Pirates as they seek to stay in the competition they won last year.