Tshepe faces old mates
READY FOR WAR: LEOPARDS STAR SAYS THEIR FRIENDSHIP WILL BE FORGOTTEN
Black Leopards midfielder Karabo Tshepe says their game with Orlando Pirates will be like a war, as he will be facing some of his peers for the first time at professional level when the teams meet at Peter Mokaba Stadium tonight.
Tshepe has played alongside the likes of Bucs’ Ben Motshwari and Xola Mlambo at amateur level and says it will be interesting to play against them in the top flight.
“There is no doubt about it, it will be war when we meet tomorrow (today),” Tshepe said. “I have played against ‘Stiga’ (Motshwari)” and ‘10-10’ (Mlambo)” before, but this will be the first time we face each other in the professional ranks. We even played for the same team. We know each other very well and I am sure they are feeling the same as I am.”
The 29-year-old doesn’t only have a history with Motswari and Mlambo – a couple of years ago, Tshepe was on trial with the Buccaneers, but things didn’t go well. With that in mind, one might think the midfielder has a grudge against the club but he says he has moved on and all he wants to do tonight is to continue showing Leopards he appreciates the op- portunity given to him by giving everything on the field.
“It is all behind me. What is important to me at the moment is that I am a Leopards player and I will give everything for the club whenever we play, it doesn’t matter if we play against Pirates or any other club,” he added.
“Everyone in the team is ready for the game – we have been pre- paring well in the last couple of days. I think our performance in the games so far says a lot about us. We are a very competitive side and we are always looking to improve.”
Leopards have started their 2018/2019 campaign on a positive note with two draws and one win in their first three league fixtures heading into this game, while Pirates have lost twice, won one and drawn one game in their opening four league games.
We are a very competitive side and are always looking to improve.