Zwane desperate, Pirates to dominate?

With the form and general trajectory of Pirates in recent weeks, they look like big favourites for this mach. However, we said the same before the last meeting and Maart’s very long-range wonder goal secured a win for Chiefs instead. Many Bucs fans blamed Mpontshane for that goal and they now have Chaine making a good case for himself to keep the jersey even once Richard Ofori is fit again. They look much more cohesive and consistent these days, are scoring goals, and will back themselves to take all three points. However, this is a derby, it is about who wants it more on the day and the last thing Pirates can ill-afford to do is to underestimate Chiefs based on recent results. The Amakhosi camp is hurting, fan pressure is building up and Zwane’s charges will probably come out firing. Amakhosi need a reaction. They need their supporters to be fully behind the team and the coach, but they also need Zwane to provoke a response from his players. He has constantly said that his side can’t put together a 90-minute performance, saying in his postmatch interview last Sunday, “We were just flat, actually we played in patches.” He has said those same words about a dozen times this season and, at some point, he must take responsibility for his side not giving well-rounded displays for a full match. Worryingly, the Glamour Boys’ defensive frailties have been exposed in recent matches, and they will be tested against a Bucs attack that is high on confidence. Make no mistake, a loss here and the knives will be out for “10111” with faith slowly being lost in his ability to end the trophy drought. We saw what the last derby victory meant for the former winger and the excitement he displayed on the touchline when Maart scored, but if there is one Soweto Derby Zwane would love to win, it is this upcoming one. Even a draw will buy him some time and avoid a possible mutiny.