Showdown in Sousse
IF you were to choose a South African team to go into Africa on a mission impossible, you would not think twice — it would be Orlando Pirates.
Their track record going back to that first, breakthrough Champions Cup victory against Asec Abidjan, winning 1-0 in Ivory Coast after drawing 2-2 at home, speaks for itself.
Which is why coach Eric Tinkler — throwing back peanuts, his play-sheets spread across a coffee table in front of him at the team’s beachfront hotel in Sousse — was not writing off Pirates’ chances of raising a third continental trophy today.
Tinkler believes that with the away-goal advantage Etoile Sportive du Sahel will have the same conservative five defenders counterattacking game plan in today’s second leg of the Caf Confederation Cup final at Stade Olympique de Sousse.
He said after the initial deflation of conceding Ammar Jemal’s late equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Orlando Stadium, Pirates have increasingly felt from their close look at Etoile that they are a team the Buccaneers can take. Bucs need a win by any scoreline. A 1-1 draw will go to penalties. A draw by a higher scoreline will give Bucs a win on away goals. Etoile need a goalless draw or any victory.
“I would be lying if I said it was fine we drew at home,” Tinkler said. “Now the harsh reality is we have to go and score away from home. But we’re very confident we can do that because we have been throughout the competition.
“Also, now, I think the guys have come to realise who they’re playing against. And they are confident we can come from the game with a result.
“Etoile are not as good as Al Ahly. We beat CS Sfaxien here, and they’re winning their league. Those are all positive things we can take into this game.”
It is not just the manner in which Pirates have won away since going on their big African push from 2013, but also the freedom with which they have scored goals in this Confed that gives Tinkler hope.
In the 2013 Champions League semifinals, Bucs drew 0-0 against Esperance de Tunis at home and went through on away goals with a 1-1 away draw. In this year’s Confed semis they only won 1-0 at home against Al Ahly, and came back from 2-0 down in Suez for a dramatic 4-3 away victory (5-3 on aggregate).
“We knew in that game if we got that away goal, psychologically it would affect Ahly,” Tinkler said. “This is no different. We still need the away goal.”
The precedent is there of Pirates being comeback kids in a semifinal, but not being able to come back in a final. After beating Esperance two years ago in the final, Bucs drew 1-1 against Al Ahly at home and lost 2-0 in Cairo. Tinkler believes the 2013 Ahly were superior to Etoile.
“They were exceptional. But they also had one exceptional individual in Mohamed Aboutrika. He scored the equaliser in Orlando. He scored in Cairo, turning the game.
“Etoile don’t have an Aboutrika. They have excellent players, but I don’t think they have players who can turn a game. And we do — we’ve shown that and seen them do it in the competition. [Thabo] Rakhale, [Thamsanqa] Gabuza, and Kermit [Erasmus] have done it.”
Security concerns after a bomb in Tunis killed 12 presidential guards on Tuesday have seen the match moved from the evening to 3pm (4pm SA time), with a limit — perhaps beneficially to Pirates — of 10 000 supporters in the 30 000capacity stadium.
POINTING THE WAY: Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler
The harsh reality is we have to go and score away from home