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Cape Town - Joseph Makhanya says the 1-0 victory over Stellenbosch FC will give Orlando Pirates confidence and in particular match-winner Thembinkosi Lorch.
Lorch, who has had an underwhelming season thus far after winning the Absa Premiership Player of the Season award last time out, scored the only goal of the game as the Buccaneers progressed to the next round of the Telkom Knockout.
It was only Pirates' second victory in 10 games since Rulani Mokwena took charge and Makhanya believes the Stellies win could be a vital catalyst in turning the fortunes of the Soweto giants around.
"I think it's a step towards the right direction because they were playing against a team that was not posing that much of a danger you see," the former Buccaneers star told KickOff.
"It was a team that was waiting for breaks so I still need to see them. I still need to see their game against teams that are stronger, teams that will challenge them, then we'll see if there's an improvement especially in defence because the defence was not challenged that much.
"So I'm hoping that maybe this was the confidence-booster they needed as a team because sometimes you have to start somewhere. So we are hoping this was a start of the good things because we saw the supporters, they were cheering them on, and hoping it's a step towards the right direction because a lot was expected this season," he added.
Pirates return to Cape Town for a "return fixture" against the same opposition when the two sides clash, this time in a league encounter on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 15:30.
- TeamTalk Media
