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Cape Town - Orlando Pirates bagged two essential friendly victories as they recuperate ahead of the returning PSL.
With a little over a week to go before the resumption of the ABSA Premiership, the Orlando Pirates players have intensified their efforts to gain match fitness. The Team took part in two friendly matches against tough opposition in the form of Sagrada Esperanca (Angola) and Inter (Mozambique) yesterday.
According to the clubs official website, the first of the friendlies (vs Esperanca) took place in the morning, with the Buccaneers winning 1-0 courtesy of a Mpho Makola free kick from the edge of the box in the 80th minute.
The second match (vs Inter) saw Pirates put in a strong performance, beating the visitors 2-1 with first half goals from Lehlohonolo Majoro and Sifiso Myeni.
“In the first match we wanted to give some of the (Multichoice) Diski Challenge youngsters a run against tough opposition before their quarterfinal this weekend,” said the Buccaneers’ technical team’s performance and technical analyst, Rayaan Jacobs.
“We mixed them up with seniors such as Makola, Bibo (Ntshumayelo), Gabuza and Gumede. They all did a great job, stuck to the plan and guided the youngsters through the course of the match.
“I think the plan worked wonderfully. You could see some of the youngsters gaining in confidence and performing really well too, like Mthokozisi Sithole who plays at right and left back, as well as Khanya Gwala the centre back”, said Jacobs.
“The objective of the two matches especially against African opposition was two-fold: firstly we wanted to get the players match-fit by playing a full 90 minutes; secondly, to give the guys a feel for the continental teams since we may possibly play Angolan opposition in our first CAF (Confederations Cup) match.”
“We are also mindful of the fact that we have an away fixture against AmaZulu around the corner (February 11), and we know it will be tough like every other match at this level, so we are doing our best to make the sure the guys are physically and mentally prepared for that encounter as well” concluded Jacobs.
