Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi would have loved for the defending champions to play their last match of the season at Orlando Stadium, the venue at which he and his teammates lifted the Absa Premiership trophy following a dramatic final day of the 2010/2011 campaign.
But the Buccaneers will have to try and defend their title in Durban and not Soweto this time around when they play Muhsin Ertugral’s Golden Arrows on the final day of the current campaign, on Saturday, at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
However Lekgwathi, a stalwart in the team, is still quite confident that Pirates, who are top of the Premiership table, two points ahead of Moroka Swallows, can lift the sought-after title come the final whistle.
They are, after all, playing this match in their beloved Durban, a happy hunting ground for the Buccaneers who have done well there for the past two seasons.
“It would have been nice to play at home, but we are actually happy that we are playing in Durban.
“We won the Telkom Knockout there and the MTN8 as well, so it’s a happy hunting ground for us.
“We would love to win another trophy there. We do very well when we play there,” the skipper said during yesterday’s launch of the Carling Black Label Cup.
“We will give them the respect they deserve and not get too excited.
“We will continue where we left off against Bloemfontein Celtic. We should not put ourselves under pressure in the match.”
Top of the table on 55 points going into the last round of fixtures, the longest serving player in the current Pirates squad has warned his teammates not to worry about what second-placed Moroka Swallows do on the final day against Maritzburg United. A win for Swallows would clinch their maiden Premiership title if the Buccaneers were to lose, or even draw against Arrows due to their superior goal difference
“We are not focused on Swallows. We are focused on what we are doing. We just have to go there and do what we have to do to win the title. We’re working very hard, encouraging one other. Everyone is fighting for the team.”
Should the Buccaneers go on to lift their second title in 12 months and their fourth since the inception of the PSL, the 35-year-old will go down as the Buccaneers’s most successful captain in the PSL era – it will be the sixth Pirates trophy win in two seasons.
“It will be great for me to be in the history books,” said an enthusiastic Lekgwathi who says he has no intention of retiring just yet.
“My legs will tell me when I should retire.
“For now I will carry on working hard and see how things go. You know after turning 30 the legs are no longer young.”
The former Bafana Bafana defender then said he would love for interim coach Augusto Palacios, who came in when Julio Leal was suspended and stayed on when he eventually parted ways with the club, to take on the role of coach permanently from next season.
“I wish he stays, but I’m not the one who decides. That’s up to the chairman (Irvin Khoza).
“He is a good coach.”
The Carling Black Label Cup, a pre-season tournament which was launched last year, will be played on July 28.
Pirates won last year’s tournament, beating Kaizer Chiefs on penalties. The Black Label Cup allows supporters to vote for the players they want to see playing on the day, and get to make a substitution during the match, a process former Amakhosi coach Vladimir Vermezovic was not in favour of last year.
Itumeleng Khune, the Chiefs goalkeeper who missed a penalty to hand Pirates the Black Label title last year, says the Amakhosi can win it this time which will give them confidence ahead of the 2012/2013 season.
“I missed a penalty but that’s water under the bridge. We are not scared of Pirates. We can beat them. There’s always a first time and we can win this trophy,” the Chiefs captain said.
“We are excited that we will have a new coach (Stuart Baxter). We are looking forward to working with him in the new season,” he added.
Source :iol.co.za
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