Bucs coach: we were looking too far ahead

Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer (below) believes his charges were more concerned on their Caf Confederation Cup last eight clash against Raja Casablanca, hence their poor showing against Stellenbosch FC in the DStv Premiership at the Danie Craven Stadium on Tuesday.

Pirates are preparing to take on Raja in the quarterfinals of the Caf Confed Cup at the Orlando Stadium on Sunday, their most important clash so far as they look to register their second trophy of the season after winning the MTN8 earlier this campaign.

“We have a big game on Sunday and maybe the players heads were already on the Sunday game. But that’s not the right way, we are supposed to first play this game and then concentrate on the Sunday game,” said the German coach.

Ahead of this important fixture for the club, the Bucs coach is hoping to see some of his players who have been injured making their way back into full fitness.

“First we have to see for the next game who is available for us. We have a lot of injured players and we hope they come back and we have more competition.”

Meanwhile, Phakaaathi has already reported that Bucs will at least have their goalkeeper Richard Ofori back in the team, after the Ghanaian was injured in March.

Experienced defender and club captain Happy Jele has missed the team’s last couple of games due to an injury. Other players who are nursing injuries at the team include Thabang Monare, Tshegofatso Mabasa, Collins Makgaka and Terrence Dzukamanja.

With a couple of days to go to the match, the Bucs coach will certainly be crossing his fingers to have a strong squad that will go up against the North Africans.

Raja Casablanca are one of the big clubs in Africa with a rich history in continental football with three Caf Champions League trophies under their belt and one Confederation Cup.