Pirates searching for that winning feeling at home

around in Kermit Erasmus, Thamsanqa Gabuza and Lehlohonolo Majoro while Tendai Ndoro waits on the side-lines. But even with that much fire-power, the club has been struggling in front of goal. Only Polokwane City, Jomo Cosmos and University of Pretoria have scored less goals than Pirates – not the kind of company they would like to keep.

It’s an unwelcome state for coach Eric Tinkler, as the club reached the final of the CAF Confederation Cup final last year because of their impressive display in front of goal. Now that they are playing catch-up, Pirates have lost that golden touch. It showed in the glorious opportunity Erasmus got in the dying minutes of the 1-1 draw with Platinum Stars that he sent wayward.

That was the difference between the club getting a victory and losing two valuable points.

“We started nervy and anxious, you could see the way we performed,” Tinkler said. “What you see at training and what we did in that match, was entirely different. It comes from the pressure that we are currently facing … If you look at the chances created, we’re top of the pile. We’re the team with the most entrances in the final third, team with the most shots at goal and the team with the most shots on target. Yet we aren’t putting the ball into the back of the net. That’s an area that we need to get better at. It’s an area that has always been our strength when we went through the Confederation Cup. It will come, as long as we continue believing.”

The mentor will hope to change that against University of Pretoria tomorrow night at Orlando Stadium. AmaTuks will visit Pirates at the back of a morale-boosting victory over Ezenkosi. The two teams, apart from being bottom of the log, share a common trait in that their players are in need of positive injection to shake their lethargic nature that has led to their disappointment in recent matches. But the problem at Pirates has always been there. The players have struggled to pick themselves up against “small” teams but are ferocious against the giants, not only of the country but the continent. That was until Mamelodi Sundowns smashed them to