Larsen fears Bucs will be as menacing as ever

LAMONTVILLE Golden Arrows coach Clinton Larsen is full of praise for Orlando Pirates‚ who his side meet for the second time inside a month in a Premier Soccer League encounter at the Orlando Stadium tonight.

“I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen of them‚ compared to last season when their build-ups were so laboured‚” said Larsen.

“This time around there is a lot of energy in the team‚ a lot of interchanging of positions‚ players look a lot more comfortable and seem to be enjoying what they are doing.”

Arrows have already been on the losing side to Pirates‚ beaten by a single goal at home when they played on October 25 in the first round of the Telkom Knockout.

But Arrows do have a point advantage over the Buccaneers in the PSL standings with both clubs already one-third through their season.

“I do think they’ve been a bit goalshy‚ like a lot of teams are‚” added Larsen of the Pirates’ attack‚ which has netted only eight times in 10 league games.

“But in terms of the intent they’ve showed in their attacking game‚ they’ve really been a big threat going forward.

“There are a lot of games that I’ve watched this season that they should have comfortably won had they taken their chances.

“I do think the points they have picked up is a true reflection of how strong this Pirates team is. For me … at the moment … one of the strongest teams in the PSL.”

Arrows play their first game in three weeks as they seek to try and go top of the standings‚ sitting second two points behind Baroka FC.

“After the last game‚ we gave the guys two or three days off after the last game just to recover‚ recharge the batteries‚ and then we’ve had lots of hours on the training field.

“Like I’ve said before‚ with the young players we’ve got‚ there are always areas to improve.” — DDC