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Orlando Pirates coach Micho Sredojevic believes that the victory over Bloemfontein Celtic on Sunday can finally give the Buccaneers some momentum in this 2017/18 Absa Premiership season.
Pirates have battled to get going this season, but then so has every other PSL side, and their 1-0 in Mangaung amazingly lifted them from eighth to second in the table. It also ended a six-game winless streak under Sredojevic in the league.
“We worked very hard on the mental block that was in front of us after going six games without a win. When you have such a mental block even the legs are locked. I believe winning unlocks the legs and we can now play our football.
“To play well defensively, not allowing the opposition to have chances and dominating in the middle and to convert chances. This is the beauty of the game, it is what is inviting,” Sredojevic said after the match.
“I think we had very good planning in every aspect from Tuesday. We dominated as usual, and we created chances.”
The Serb said his half-time pep talk was focused on telling his players to get into scoring positions and congratulated Musa Nyatama for his goal.
“At half-time we focused on getting into scoring positions and Musa scored from the same move we anticipated in the middle from a deeper position. Congratulations to him and all the team members.”
The Bucs coach will be hoping for another win when Pirates face this year’s Caf Confederation Cup runners-up SuperSport United at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday next week.
Last season, Bucs and Matsatsantsa faced each other four times in two cup competitions and two league meetings.
The Pretoria outfit won three of those fixtures, the most memorable being a 6-1 thrashing that led to the resignation of Muhsin Ertugral, with one game ending in a draw. While Tottenham Hotspur have done superbly to top a Uefa Champions League group that includes Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, their Premier League title challenge has stalled in recent weeks, with defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby followed by an unlikely home draw with embattled West Brom.
Spurs have suffered a bit from having to play their home games at Wembley Stadium, with nine points out of a possible 21 already dropped at home. Spurs actually have the same amount of points away from home (12) as they have picked up at Wembley, having played a game less away, and have a chance to increase this tally at the King Power Stadium against Leicester this evening.
Leicester continue to struggle to make an impression this season, though they have only lost once since Claude Puel took over. I think Spurs will be too good for them, picking up a fairly routine win.