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Pirates in buoyant mood

Johannesburg - Orlando Pirates’ Moneeb Josephs admits they need to take their chances in front of goal, but are confident ahead of their Absa Premiership match against Bidvest Wits on Saturday afternoon.

The match is scheduled to take place at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto, kick-off at 20:15.

The Buccaneers took top spot at the summit of the league table on Wednesday night despite a disappointing draw against Moroka Swallows. But a loss by Mamelodi Sundowns on the same night allowed them to overtake the Brazilians at the top of the log by one point.

Pirates now sit on 47 points closely followed by ‘Downs in second on 46 points and Swallows in third on 43 points.

Still, the Buccaneers margin at the top of the table could have been larger if they had taken their numerous chances in front of goal against the Dube Birds on Wednesday night.

But speaking to Josephs, despite hitting the wood work three times on the night, he suggests they could have played for three more weeks and not scored against their Soweto rivals.

“It just wasn’t our night to get the goals. We could have played for three more weeks and wouldn’t have scored a goal.

“But we got the point and it is a point that is key. We just have to go to the next game and see what we can get out of that one,” said ‘Slimkat’.

Pirates’ next fixture is against a struggling Wits side who have only managed to secure one point in their last six league outings, which included a run of five defeats in a row.

Wits secured their only point since the beginning of March in a 1-1 draw with Ajax Cape Town on Wednesday night, but that was also a little fortuitous after a second half goal from Timothy Batabaire secured them the draw.

Nonetheless, Josephs says Pirates are not taking the Clever Boys for granted, but are still buoyant going into the match and asks the crowd at Orlando Stadium to get behind them.

“What we do have is confidence and confidence for our next game. We playing well tactically and we playing really, really well on the pitch. We confident and we want the three points against Wits.

“The crowd is key, we need them. When the morale is going down it is good to get them going and it lets us players know they are right behind us. It just gives us that bit of extra vigour knowing they are behind us,” said the shot-stopper.

One team who have been lacking confidence this season, or at least in 2012, is BidVest Wits who are yet to win a league game this year and are presently 13th on the log only seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Coach Roger De Sa puts his team’s poor performance this year down to his side’s inexperience, but still believes one win will put them back on track and his youngsters are capable of achieving that.

“This season we had a great start and a great first half and I knew we did enough to be safe. But this is what happens when you have such a young squad.

“If you look at the first half of the match against Ajax, it was like two teams playing not to lose rather than playing for a win. Our players were afraid of losing.

“Overall, the silly goals we have conceded have been costing us vital points. I am happy with the youngsters; they have guts and they managed to fight back after conceding an early goal,” concluded De Sa.

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