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DERBY: GOES WAY BEYOND BRAGGING RIGHTS AND PICKING UP THE POINTS
Soweto rivals Chiefs and Pirates involved in the fight to secure Champions League spot.
The Soweto derby between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs is anticipated to be a highly competitive tie, with both sides looking for a Caf Champions League spot when they meet in a DStv Premiership tie at FNB Stadium tomorrow.
Bucs and Chiefs are way behind in the race for the league title, with the Buccaneers
sitting in fifth place with 30 points, while Amakhosi are in sixth spot, having accumulated 29 points after 19 games – 23 and 24 points respectively behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
But, a battle for a second-place finish and qualification for the Caf Champions League seems much more possible for one of the two Soweto giants, which makes maximum points vital for either team this coming weekend.
The two coaches Cavin Johnson of Amakhosi and Jose Riveiro of the Buccaneers admitted their eagerness to get back to playing in continental football.
Particularly Chiefs, who last competed in the Champions League in the 2020/21 season, where they lost the final to AlAhly.
Johnson believes a win against Pirates will give them a push to try and win the rest of their matches in the league and achieve their continental goal.
“It’s been one of the team’s objectives for a long time now (playing in the Caf Champions League). If we can do this one (win against Pirates) on Saturday [tomorrow], it will give us a lot more to play for and end up as high as we can in the league (standings).
“But there are still a lot of games to play in the league – about 10 or 11,” said the Amakhosi coach during the derby press conference yesterday.
“But if we do get a positive result on Saturday [tomorrow], it will put us in good standing for the coming games left in the PSL.”
Meanwhile, Riveiro says despite getting three points which will help them attain their ultimate goal, the clash against the Glamour Boys also allows them to redeem themselves after their result against Cape Town Spurs.
The Buccaneers played to a 1-1 draw with the Urban Warriors in a league clash at the Orlando Stadium last Wednesday.
“It will help us to collect the points we need to achieve our objective which is to play in the Champions League next season. But it’s obviously much more than three points. It’s one of those games that puts everybody together, fans, teams, players, just everything,” said Riveiro.
“Again, it’s a nice opportunity after a poor performance yesterday [Wednesday] to show what we are capable of doing on the day. I cannot see any better opportunity than this one.”