Pirates not taking Leopards lightly
ERIC Tinkler is under no illusion that AC Leopards will be a walk in the park when they face them in a Caf Confederation Cup group match in Dosilie, Congo, today (4.30pm SA time).
Orlando Pirates arrived in the Republic of Congo on Thursday afternoon following a seven-hour trip.
The Sea Robbers’ caretaker coach was forced to make his final selection from a 21-man squad after the suspension of experienced defender Rooi Mahamutsa and striker Thamsanqa Gabuza.
The duo were phenomenal for the Buccaneers in their previous three outings of the qualifiers.
Mahamutsa played a key role in helping Pirates continue their unbeaten run into the group stage with his no-nonsense approach in the heart of defence.
Gabuza, on the other hand, made the team tick in the attacking third of the field as Pirates went on to produce some impressive results in both home and away matches.
Pirates scored a record 14 goals and conceded six in the qualifiers.
Tinkler hopes their unbeaten streak will carry on into the group stage when they face Leopards today.
The coach stated that Mahamutsa and Gabuza would be sorely missed but that they have enough depth in the squad to fill in those gaps.
“Gabuza is one of our best players,” Tinkler said.
“He gave a brilliant showing in our previous outings but we have to make sure that we deliver without his services on this one. He’s very good aerially and he’s got that special ability of getting into the box and finishing off those created chances. He is a creator as well and that’s what makes him spe- cial. He will be sorely missed but we believe we have capable players who can fill in the gap and do the job for us as well.
“Lennox Bacela, Lehlohonolo Majoro and Kermit Erasmus are all available for selection and they know what it’s expected of them. We’ve been in this situation before and we are confident that we are going to do well.”
Tinkler, though, is well aware of the kind of threat his opponents pose on home turf. Leopards beat Nigerian club Warri Wolves 3-0 at home, ending their unbeaten run in the qualifiers as well as their aspirations of reaching the group stage for the first time in the club’s history in the play-off rounds.
Leopards sauntered into the group stage with an impressive 3-1 aggregate scoreline after defending throughout the away second leg tie.
The same thing happened to Pirates in 2013 in the Caf Champions League group stage when they lost 1-0 in the away clash after having drawn against Leopards on home turf.
It is in this regard that Tinkler believes they need to be compact in defence and quick on the counter-attack in order to out-smart their opponents this time around.
“We had a chance to look at them and they’ve made five additions in their starting line-up compared to the side we played two years ago,” he said.
“They are a difficult side to beat, I’ll give them that. They gave us a tough time in both of our matches in the Champions League but we’ve learned from that experience.
“We are going to have to be disciplined at the back, that’s very crucial in this away tie. We need to make sure that we contain them as much as we can and catch them on the counter.
“Hopefully we’ll come out with a good result on this one.”