Free-scoring United have Pirates worried
ORLANDO Pirates defender Ayanda Gcaba, pictured, says his side will have to work extra-hard if they are to have a chance of defending their Nedbank Cup title after they drew SuperSport United in the last 16 of the Ke Yona Cup.
The draw was conducted at Carlton Centre yesterday and Gcaba spoke with the kind of fear that one would expect from a child when asked to take on the biggest bully in school, such has been Matsatsantsa a Pitori’s form going into the second round of the Absa Premiership, following the signing of their two potent strikers in Jeremy Brockie and Kingston Nkhatha.
It was Matsatsantsa who gave Kaizer Chiefs their first defeat of the league season (2-0).
The Pretoria side also hammered Polokwane City 4-1 in their last 32 fixtures and Gcaba said that is when they took notice of the potential threat.
The defender also stated that they would have to neutralise the SuperSport’s attack if they are to see competition.
“SuperSport have lethal attack and we are aware of that, Gcaba said. “They are most likely to use Brockie and Nkhatha against us and we have to be ready for them.
“I’ve seen a couple of games Brockie played in and he has proven to be one of the best strikers this season.
“Nkhatha is another problem that we have to deal with. Any defender will tell you about the kind of work- rate Nkhatha brings into the game. He never gives up. He will run you down for the whole of 90 minutes until you show signs of fatigue, that’s just how he is.
“We are going to have to work hard as a unit if we are to see ourselves win this one. “We’ve rectified our mistakes in our rearguard and the only thing that is left for us to do now is to continue winning our PSL matches. That will help ready us for this tight clash.”
Meanwhile, SuperSport captain Clayton Daniels praised his side’s performance against PoloKwane City in the last 32 fixtures. Daniels said he was happy with how Nkhatha and Brockie settled in the squad and began scoring goals in such a short space of time.
The defender also stated that playing at home against Pirates would be an advantage, as playing the Sea Robbers away in this tight fixture would have been detrimental for them.
“It’s actually an advantage for us that we will be playing at home,” Daniels said.
“Pirates are a big team and they’ve been scoring goals in the second half of the season. We have to be extra vigilant when we play them. It’s going to be a tough one.
“Hopefully our two new strikers continue in their current form when we play Pirates.”