Lorch warns Pirates: Chiefs will want revenge

by Graeme Jackson

Thursday Feb 07, 2019. 13:00

Orlando Pirates midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch has warned his team that Kaizer Chiefs will be eager for revenge in the Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Buccaneers have gotten the better of the Amakhosi in the last three derbies, but Lorch believes their opponents are a much more dangerous prospect since their managerial change, which saw Ernst Middendorp replace Giovanni Solinas at the back end of 2018.

“It’s going to be a different ball game, we expect they will come at us and fight because they won’t want to lose to us again,” Lorch is quoted by Kick-Off.

“They will want to claim their pride back, but we will be ready for a tough game. We will just play our normal game – and like the coach said, it’s not about playing the occasion.”

He added, “We’re definitely expecting a different approach because we were watching their game against Sundowns, and they came out with a different style of play.

“We also noted that the players are happy under the new coach, so we just have to be prepared because he is a good coach – you can see there’s structure in the team now.”

Pirates come into the game having claimed 32 points from their 18 league matches this season, while Chiefs have accumulated 27 from 19 outings.