Pirates clear favourites in MTN8 showdown versus Chiefs

by Graeme Jackson

Saturday Nov 07, 2020. 12:00

Kaizer Chiefs have a mountain to climb if they are to overturn a huge deficit in their MTN8 semifinal, second leg encounter versus Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium on Sunday. Kick-off is at 15h00 CAT.

The Buccaneers claimed an impressive 3-0 win in the first leg last weekend with Zakhele Lepasa, Vincent Pule and Thembinkosi Lorch on target for the hosts at Orlando Stadium.

But despite having history in this competition on their side and a substantial lead on aggregate, Pirates assistant coach Fadlu Davids has reiterated that the Sea Robbers won’t be taking anything for granted against a Chiefs side that came so close to winning the league title last season.

“We approach the match like a normal match, taking the scoreline out of the equation,” said Davids.

“We can’t afford to make the mistake of heading into the match with the 3-0 scoreline in our minds. There are a lot of examples of teams coming back from 3-0 so we can’t be complacent. We will approach the game with the aim of scoring goals.

“If you look at the bigger picture, Chiefs were very close to winning the league last season. They have exactly the same squad, we know their strengths and how dangerous they can be, especially with an experienced coach on their bench. We definitely won’t go into the match undermining Kaizer Chiefs.”

The Amakhosi have been a shadow of the team that lost the league on the final day of last season and head coach Gavin Hunt has his work cut out for him following a slow start to the current campaign.

“We couldn’t do a proper pre-season in terms of where you go through the stages of what you want to do‚” Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt said this week.

“So it’s been a lot of trying to go with a lot of what they had last year. Obviously minus Samir [Nurkovic] (who is injured)‚ which is a big blow as he was pivotal to the way they played last year.

“And trying to find a way that suits the best we can with what we’ve got available.

“But condition-wise‚ we need conditioning all over. A lot of these players like ‘Tower’ [Erick Mathoho]‚ Kgotso Moleko‚ Leonardo Castro — we need to play them fit.”

While Chiefs will be without Nurkovic, Pirates will have to do without the services of Gabadinho Mhango due to injury. The Buccaneers are also sweating on the fitness of Thembinkosi Lorch, Thulani Hlatshwayo and Terrence Dzvukamanja.

Head-to-head statistics (since 1985):

Last 10 cup results:

Season Cup Result Scorers

2010/11 Telkom final Pirates 0-3 Chiefs Ngcobo 2, Tshabalala

2011/12 MTN8 final Pirates 1-0 Chiefs Manyisa

2013/14 MTN8 semifinal, 1st leg Chiefs 0-1 Pirates Klate

2013/14 MTN8 semifinal, 2nd leg Pirates 1-1 Chiefs Bacela (pen); Parker

2014/15 MTN8 final Chiefs 1-0 Pirates Mashamaite

2015/16 Telkom semifinal Chiefs 0-0* Pirates

2015/16 Nedbank, last 32 Pirates 2-0 Chiefs Ndoro 2

2018/19 Telkom semifinal Chiefs 1-2 Pirates Castro; Lorch, Shonga

2019/20 Telkom quarterfinal Chiefs 2-2* Pirates Castro, Cardoso (pen); Makaringe, Mhango

2020-21 MTN8 semifinal, 1st leg Pirates 3-0 Chiefs Lepasa, Pule, Lorch

(*Chiefs won on penalties)

Last 10 league results:

Season Result Scorers

2015/16 Chiefs 1-3 Pirates Mathoho; Sarr, Gcaba, Gabuza

2015/16 Pirates 1-1 Chiefs Gabuza; Katsande

2016/17 Pirates 0-0 Chiefs

2016/17 Chiefs 1-1 Pirates Molangoane; Masilela (og)

2017/18 Chiefs 0-0 Pirates

2017/18 Pirates 3-1 Chiefs Lorch, Memela 2; Castro

2018/19 Pirates 2-1 Chiefs Maela, Pule; Billiat

2018/19 Chiefs 1-1 Pirates Cardoso (pen); Lorch

2019/20 Chiefs 3-2 Pirates Nyauza (og), Castro, Cardoso (pen); Pule, Mhango

2019/20 Pirates 0-1 Chiefs Manyama

Cup record:

P W D L GF GA

Chiefs 27 9 8 10 25 28

Pirates 27 10 8 9 28 25

Overall record (all competitions):

P W D L GF GA

Chiefs 96 35 36 25 103 92

Pirates 96 25 36 35 92 103