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| Chiefs vs Pirates |
The Buccaneers, fresh from their Caf Champions League semifinal triumph in Tunisia, where they managed a crucial away goal against Esperance to progress to the final, returned home to thump Golden Arrows 4-0 in the Telkom Knockout quarterfinals, setting up a potentially epic clash against Chiefs on Saturday.
On November 2, the Buccaneers will host Egypt’s Al-Ahly at Orlando Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League final.
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"So there’s probably a few different dynamics, and I think both teams have got good confidence at the moment."
Pirates will be hoping striker Lennox Bacela continues his scoring form against Chiefs, after his first hat-trick for the club on Wednesday. Coach Roger De Sa will not have alarming injury concerns, with Tlou Segolela and Sifiso Myeni expected to return to the starting line-up after missing the Arrows rout.
• Free State Stars face the dilemma of desperately needing recovery time for Sunday’s match against Bidvest Wits after being drained by two games already this week plus a tough travel schedule. Coach Steve Komphela admitted it had been tough to keep his players going.
"They are not machines," he said as he looked ahead to the home match at Goble Park in Bethlehem.
Stars played a full two hours on a rain-sodden pitch at Phuthaditjhaba last Sunday before suffering a morale-deflating penalty shootout loss to Kaizer Chiefs and bowing out of the Telkom Knockout.
They were then on the plane two days later to Cape Town, first having to travel by bus from the Eastern Free State to Johannesburg to catch their flight, and then headed home again on Thursday on a similarly exhausting trip.
They looked flat and listless in Wednesday’s defeat by Ajax Cape Town, and Komphela will be hoping there is no repeat on Sunday.
In Cape Town the sense of relief was palpable in the stadium on Wednesday night when Ajax Cape Town finally won a game this season and now turn their sights on an away trip in Tshwane on Saturday night.
They next face Pretoria University, hoping to put the trauma of narrowly escaping relegation last season, plus all the boardroom battles between their directors, now firmly behind them.
The ignominy of being beaten 7-1 by Mamelodi Sundowns will haunt AmaZulu for the rest of the season and perhaps beyond.
But it is how they bounce back from such a heavy defeat that will determine whether the strength of character Craig Rosslee has tried to instill in his players has taken hold.
Usuthu face Maritzburg United at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday. Maritzburg coach Clinton Larsen said AmaZulu’s 7-1 loss would make the game even tougher for them because Usuthu will put heavy emphasis on plugging holes in their defence and midfield.
Malawian international striker Essau "Black Mamba" Kanyenda will spearhead Polokwane City’s attack against log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns in their Absa Premiership match at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday night.
The former Jomo Cosmos striker broke his finger when City defeated Ajax Cape Town 2-0 at the same venue on September 22.
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• Cavin Johnson is wary of the trend in late goals as SuperSport United prepare to face Bloemfontein Celtic at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday. It is a trend United also contributed to by beating Maritzburg United 1-0 late on Wednesday night when it looked as if the game was winding down towards a stalemate.
Celtic scored three minutes after full time on Tuesday to snatch a 2-2 draw with Moroka Swallows, while Mpumalanga Black Aces stunned Platinum Stars late in their 2-2 draw at Royal Bafokeng Stadium, pointing to a rise in late surges in the PSL.
With Mark Gleeson, Sbu Mjikeliso, Ramatsiyi Moholoa
Source : bdlive.co.za
Tags : psl,pirates, chiefs, soweto derby, bucs, amakhosi
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