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Matlaba: We had to be focussed

Cape Town - Orlando Pirates captain Thabo Matlaba was glad to see his side move through to the quarter-finals of the Nedbank Cup following their emphatic 3-1 victory over Jomo Cosmos at Olen Park Stadium.

Pirates, who came into this match off the back of a 1-0 league defeat against Bidest Wits got back to winning ways courtesy of a brace from Tendai Ndoro.

Matlaba was named Man of the Match as he returned from injury and upon receiving his accolade, the hard-running full back expressed his satisfaction following a clinical performance from a side that lost 1-0 in the league to Cosmos in the same venue.

“Very happy with the teams overall performance,” said Matlaba on the club’s website.

“Playing in this heat is never easy but I think we played well under the conditions.

“The coach (Eric Tinkler) reminded us before the start of the game to make sure we seal the deal in regulation time and avoid extra time as it would take its toll on us.

“We knew after losing to Cosmos in the league here (Olen Park Stadium); we had to be focussed and avoid any unnecessary mistakes which eventually cost us three points when we did play them.

“But I think following our 5-0 win in the return leg we were more confident coming into this match that we would pull off a good result and we did just that.”

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