Cape Town - Orlando Pirates winger Luvuyo Memela has warned opposing teams that Orlando Stadium is once again a fortress to be reckoned with.
The Buccaneers have won their last four home games on the bounce with their most recent triumph a 3-1 victory over Highlands Park on Saturday night.
Memela has been an integral part of the Sea Robbers' resurgence, claiming the man-of-the-match award against the Lions of the North.
'Amigo' also had a brilliant game in the match prior - a 1-0 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns at Orlando, playing a superb slide-rule pass to set up Gabadinho Mhango for the only goal of the game.
After a poor start to the season, which saw them sitting in the bottom half of the standings, the Soweto giants have gone on to win four of their last five matches to trampoline up to fifth on the standings.
And Memela has emphasised the importance of winning their home games so as to create a fear factor surrounding teams visiting Orlando Stadium.
"In the second round, we need to win as many games as possible especially at home to make sure that when people come here they know that they are coming to the slaughterhouse," he added.
"For me, I'm happy with the support we are getting from the fans. We need them when we are down, we need them to pull us up."
The Buccanneers have been fast starters in recent times, but have been guilty of taking their foot off the pedal in the second half and Memela has called for an improvement in this regard.
"You could see Highlands Park were coming at us with long balls looking to score, but we worked hard when were re leading 3-0," he continued.
"We didn't want to concede, but unfortunately we did. We just have to work hard in our second-half performance."
Pirates will have another opportunity to play at home when they host AmaZulu on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 18:00.
- TeamTalk Media