Pirates have the cup pedigree
There is no doubt the odds favour Orlando Pirates in the Telkom Knockout final clash with Baroka FC. After all, it is the Buccaneers who have the cup pedigree, not to mention the abundance of big-name players as the two sides prepare to meet at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.
For Limpopo’s Baroka, this will be a first ever major final in the PSL, since the club was formed in 2006, while Pirates’ trophy cabinet is jam-packed with major trophies.
The Buccaneers haven’t managed to lift any PSL silverware in the last four years, but the Soweto giants should be upbeat going into this important tie looking at the improvement of the team. They are back in the Caf Champions League and find themselves occupying top spot in the Absa Premiership table, Milutin Sredojevic’s side building well on their runners-up finish last season.
Winger Thembinkosi Lorch, who has been one of the top performing players for Bucs this season, will be playing in his first cup final for the club and he is desperate to change the fortunes of the club.
“A lot of us will be playing in our first final for the club. Like our opponents, who want to win their club’s first title, a lot of us at Pirates also harbour ambitions to make a mark at this club,” Lorch told the Pirates website.
“We want to be a generation that contributes to this club’s illustrious career. It’s been four years since the club and fans have tasted cup success. We want to give it our all this weekend to end the year on a high.”
Baroka head coach Wilson Nyirenda, who was brought to the club prior to the start of the current campaign, has already made history with the club finding themselves just 90 minutes away from lifting their first major cup in top-flight football.
“A cup final is a different stage of football. Sometimes as supporters you’ll be excited but you go out there and find out that the teams are sizing each other up.
“We have put everything into our plan. We know what to do,” Nyirenda told the media yesterday.
Baroka have already beaten Mamelodi Sundowns and Bidvest Wits en route to the final, and are in a rich vein of form, having won their last three games in all competitions.