Pirates seek Stars revenge

Tshepo Ntsoelengoe

Having lost to Free State Stars in an Absa Premiership clash at the James Motlatsi Stadium last weekend, Orlando Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret (above) said his players felt a bit disappointed after the match and they would be looking for revenge when the two sides meet again on Saturday in a Nedbank Cup last-16 tie at the same venue.

The Buccaneers saw their league campaign continue to take a nosedive as they went on to 12 league matches without a victory.

“The spirit in the dressingroom is to go and rectify this past weekend’s result and I hope that we will win when we meet them again. The players were disappointed with the result at the end of the match,” said the Pirates coach.

“We also made a lot of mistakes that we shouldn’t have, but we also saw a lot of positives that we can build on. But we have to be honest, Free State Stars were better than us and we have to work hard to do better this Saturday.”

With the team’s league run giving them no chance of challenging for the championship title and having not won any silverware this season, the Nedbank Cup remains the only competition that Jonevret can bring back the happy days to the Soweto giants.

However, the Swedish coach said it was difficult to say they would win the trophy.

“It is difficult to promise that you will win a cup game, but it’s all about what we do in the training field,” he added.

“I think right now there are many teams better than Pirates even if you don’t like to say it, but when you are in a cup or the league you want to win.

“But it all depends on what you are doing on and off the pitch.

“How we behave as professionals will lead us to a positive result and hopefully, it will lead us to a win on Saturday.”