Mamelodi Sundowns v Orlando Pirates

22 October, Peter Mokaba Stadium, 15h30

Pirates can’t match Sundowns’ quality, but… Benedict Vilakazi – Former Pirates & Sundowns midfielder

“Look, it’s definitely going to be a tough one as we saw with the first leg. The team that has pressure is Sundowns and I’ll explain why. They have better quality players than Pirates, that’s where the pressure comes from. From those sitting on the bench, in the grandstands and even at home, all-round better quality. Their entire starting XI is dangerous, including the goalkeeper. Any one of them can win the game for Sundowns, whereas at Pirates, you count three to four players… your Ndlondlo, Pule, Erasmus, maybe Lorch when he’s on song, when he’s the

Lorch that I love, the Lorch that can do miracles. Sundowns have always had better quality players, even be

fore I was born. That’s just their culture and DNA. People talk about how Sundowns have a good team now… No, they’ve always had better teams. I must say, though, Pirates did well to hold off that quality in the first leg because playing Sundowns is never easy. Even when I was playing, Sundowns was always tough to beat, but I thrived on such competition against them. You can call them now and they’ll tell you I always gave them hell. There’s one game they asked their coach at the time, Paul Dolezar, if he’s scared of Pirates and he said, ‘No, I’m not scared of Pirates, but I’m scared of their only one player, Vilakazi, and I’m going to give him a name today, Little Napoleon.’ Ha, ha,

ha. But as I said, it’s going to be even tougher given the ‘moment’ they (Pirates) are going through where they are struggling to get things right or

need more time…. I just can’t figure it out. But listen, yes, pound for pound, Pirates can’t match Sundowns’ quality, but this is a cup game and cup

games are full of surprises. It’s all about who wants it more and the one that wants it more will double their work rate. A big plus for me as far as Pirates are concerned is the impact

Ndlondlo made on debut in a game of that magnitude. He’s a huge positive for Pirates, who haven’t quite had such a smart player in a very long time, a player who can make things happen for them, and I’m eager to see what more he’ll do, especially in this second leg. Should Pirates go all the way and win this cup… Chiefs too… it will be a big thing for their fans given how long they haven’t won anything. The players from both teams are obviously telling themselves, ‘Sigcine k’dala, madoda, ukuthi sibambe itrophy (We haven’t lifted a trophy in a long time, guys).’ We are certainly in for surprises. I can say now it will be Chiefs and Sundowns (in the final), only for it to end up being Pirates and

AmaZulu FC. It might even end up being a Soweto Derby final.”

It’s been a long time Collins Mbesuma – Former Pirates & Sundowns striker

“We all know just how consistent Sundowns is, but what I see now, Pirates are in a good form also. They started slow, but they are picking up well. These kind of games have a way

of motivating players, so don’t be surprised when you see Pirates players coming to the party. It’s going to be a tough game, I can tell you that for sure. Remember I played for both sides, so it’s a matter of ‘let the best team win’. These kind of games have a way of motivating players. Yes, Pirates haven’t been scoring, whereas Sundowns are free-scoring, but don’t be surprised (to see) Pirates scoring a plethora of goals

on the day. Everyone wants to score against Sundowns. For Pirates and Chiefs, they need this cup in order to instil confidence that they too can win the league. I know already most people are wishing and hoping for a Soweto Derby final. It’s been a long time and seeing that the league run is a marathon, the momentum they can get from this will help their league run. Even their supporters will start believing in the players because, as it stands, the supporters aren’t believing in the players because they haven’t achieved anything. There’s a lot of pressure on the strikers at Chiefs and Pirates, pressure from management and the supporters. If they can both go through to the final, they will have a breather.”

They are walkovers those ones Basetsana Ntsweng – Sundowns supporter

“This is a must-win game for us. Whenever we play Pirates, we always have a problem with the way their fans treat us, especially at Orlando Stadium. We never have a peaceful game against them. But we went there for the first leg and managed to

hold them. They are coming to us now and we have nothing to fear because we know we do our talking on the pitch. We just need goals, we need an early goal because with Pirates, once you score early against them, hayi, they lose moya (air). They’ll be done. One thing I can tell you about Sun

downs, we only have stress when we play against the small teams. When we play against the so-called bigger teams … they call them the Soweto giants … we don’t stress because they are walkovers those ones. They don’t

scare us. We only worry against other teams because those teams tighten up and give us a good fight, but those other ones, ba reka (they buy). They buy referees, linesmen. These referees are messing up our game. But I must warn them now, if they come

here thinking they’ll win against us by doing that, they are in for a shock.

They must play the game fairly and give us a good contest. We will beat them and it will be Sundowns and AmaZulu FC in the final. I’m telling you now, Chiefs won’t go to the MTN8 final. They are out now. People will experience a great final between us and AmaZulu, a game without any drama, fights and no bad refereeing. Just a game where people will be fighting to win the cup, nothing else. Sithatha zonke futhi (We are taking everything again). We’ll remain merciless until they chase us from the league, which will never happen.”

Once you close Shalulile, Sundowns is dead Charles ‘Makhalanjalo’ Fantisi – Pirates supporter

“Even though we didn’t score in the first leg, we played very well and this time around, we will get the ball in the net. We need those goals. We are aware we’ve been struggling to score

lately, but it will change. We are happy with the coach and the football the boys are playing, but we are not happy with the lack of goals. It’s not difficult to beat Sundowns. If TS Galaxy can beat them, why can’t Pir-

ates do the same? Why can’t we knock them out? Right now, Sundowns isn’t

as good as they were last season. Once you close (Peter) Shalulile, Sundowns is dead. We will beat them and it doesn’t matter who we face in the final, we will beat them as well. Even Chiefs, they can come… but my only problem with Chiefs is all these penalties they always get. But we are going to silence a lot of noise. Evidence Makgopa is back. (Kermit) Erasmus is also ready to punish them

for benching him.”