Bucs not focused on humiliating defeat
MEMORIES of Orlando Pirates’ 6-0 humiliation by Mamelodi Sundowns at the beginning of the year are still fresh.
But Bucs captain Thabo Matlaba is adamant revenge will be the furthest thing from their minds when the two sides meet in an eagerly awaited league showdown at the Orlando Stadium tomorrow night.
Sundowns effortlessly wiped the floor with Pirates in a game that was marred by violent disruptions at the Loftus Stadium.
Matlaba said they would not obsess about the embarrassing defeat in February and attempt to inflict similar punishment on Suning downs‚ who are in the midst of a slump and have lost their last three games in a row.
“No‚ we are not looking for revenge and we are just focusing on the match‚” he said.
“We are [approaching] this match in the same way as we would any other match.
“We know that we lost against them [in February]‚ so we need to go there and play our normal football and win the match. That’s it.”
Then Pirates coach Augusto Palacios presided over the 6-0 hid- by Sundowns and did not return to the bench to resume his duties after violence disrupted the game in the second half.
He also did not turn up at the postmatch media conference.
The Peruvian-born coach made a beeline for the tunnel after trouble broke out and vanished.
Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic‚ who joined the club in August‚ acknowledged that the two clubs knew each other well and fans could brace themselves for a pulsating night of football.
“It is very simple: They know everything about us. We know everything about them.
“A small detail can decide the outcome of the game.
“Every match of this magnitude is usually decided by a small detail. There is a thin line between winning and losing,” Sredojevic said.
“They lost their last three matches and whatever‚ but those last three matches will not be playing the game on Wednesday.
“The 6-0 defeat will not play on Wednesday. Us doing so much on the field will play on Wednesday.
“You know I am a person who really loves big matches and this one is a match I am looking forward to see what will happen.”
‘ We need to play our normal football and win the match