Orlando Pirates have been like a raging bull. Whenever they have been backed into a corner – with nowhere else to go – and written off, they have smashed those standing between them and their destination. That’s why they’re in the Caf Confederation Cup final.
But when the club is on top, they lose their bull-like demeanour and become nothing more than a domesticated cow which can be patted to sleep without any resistance.
That’s why they’re struggling in the Premiership. And this is why it might be a blessing in disguise that they conceded a goal against Etoile du Sahel, to draw the first leg of the final 1-1 at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
Now, they have to go to Sousse in Tunisia on Sunday evening and do something that hasn’t been done by any club in this competition. That is to either get a score-draw (2-2 or higher would seal the title) at Stade Olympique de Sousse, or get the first win by a visiting team at the venue.
Trampling over North African giants’ fortresses is not something new to the club. They ended Al Ahly’s 10-year unbeaten run at home in the CAF Champions League when they beat them 3-0 in 2013 in El-Gouna.
In that year they also defeated Esperance in their own backyard.
They maintained that trend this year. They beat CS Sfaxien in Sfax, got a win on a pitch that even cows wouldn’t graze, in Dolisie against AC Leopards, before breaking down Al Ahly in Suez in one of the club’s most impressive performances in continental football.
Before that, Al Ahly were unbeaten in Suez after their shock elimination from the Champions League to the Confederation Cup. In all those games Pirates were expected to lose, but the club turned the “underdogs” tag into fuel that drove them to victory.
“We’re a good team away, on every trip that we have made we have managed to score,” said Pirates coach Eric Tinkler.
“It was just a lapse in concentration towards the end (against Etoile du Sahel) when we conceded that goal. We were caught on a set-piece, which is the disappointing side of things because we worked on those for the most of the week leading up to the game.”
High in confidence after downing Al Ahly, the Buccaneers came home to take on a struggling University of Pretoria in the PSL, expecting to cruise to a victory. It didn’t happen... they laboured to a win needing 120 minutes and defender Ayanda Gcaba to rescue them.
When they crawled into the Soweto derby after a defeat to Golden Arrows, where fans chanted “Tinkler must go”, the bull in them woke up and they smashed Kaizer Chiefs 3-1. They couldn’t repeat that feat a week later, as favourites, losing to Amakhosi and spurning a chance to reach the Telkom final.
It’s a psychological battle that Tinkler has to continuously wage with his players, to get the best out of them.
Pirates will leave for Tunisia on Thursday, again with the underdogs tag, and will have a fresh captain with Happy Jele suspended, but that might just push them to release their “inner bull”. - Cape Argus