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Orlando Pirates midfielder Musa Nyatama believes their 3-1 win over Baroka FC last Saturday at the Orlando Stadium will inject some determination into all the players to start scoring goals, after they struggled to do so in the first round of the league.
The Buccaneers midfielder was instrumental in the club’s victory over Bakgaga helping out in defence as well as in attack which saw him getting the opening goal of the match with a beautifully taken header and ending up being rewarded with the Man-of-theMatch accolade for his efforts.
“A great start to the new year. This win will go a long way to boosting our confidence. We have struggled to score in recent games but tonight we got three and I am happy with that,” said the former Bloemfontein Celtic player.
“When I came to Pirates I knew I would be attacking as well as defending. I’m happy with that because it shows I am part of a system that is very ambitious.”
Having started the year on a positive note, Nyatama and his Bucs team-mates are looking to continue with their form they displayed against Baroka when they face-off with league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
Nyatama, however, acknowledges that it won’t be easy to play against the Pretoria outfit, especially since Masandawana lost their first game of the year 3-2 to Polokwane City last weekend.
“It will be a difficult game against Sundowns. They will come out with guns blazing since they were beaten by Polokwane City. But they beat us last time around so we have to go after them at the weekend.
“We are not worried about the Sundowns team because we have quality in our own side. We are prepared to leave it all out on the field on Saturday. Game on.”
The Buccaneers will head into this clash having not won a match against the Brazilians since their 3-0 beating of Pitso Mosimane’s side back in the 2014/2015 season. Ever since then, the teams have met six times in league games, with Downs winning all of those matches.
Pirates, meanwhile, announced yesterday that Luvuyo Memela – who scored twice against Baroka – and Mpho Makola had both signed contract extensions, keeping them at the club until June 2019. Mamelodi Sundowns suffered a shock defeat at Polokwane City on Saturday, the league leaders slipping to a second loss in a row, which has given real hope to those in pursuit in the title race.
Pitso Mosimane’s men will hope to bounce back to winning ways at Ajax Cape Town tonight, the relegation-threatened Urban Warriors losing their first game under the watch of Muhsin Ertugral on Friday, a 2-1 defeat at home to Maritzburg United.
Ertugral sat in the stands because he was yet to get his work permit, and it remains to be seen whether it will have arrived in time for him to be on the bench this evening. Either way, I expect Sundowns to win this one.