CAPE TOWN - Orlando Pirates will be in the football spotlight for all the wrong reasons this week. All manner of condemnation will rain down on the Soweto club after a section of its supporters disgraced the sport of football on Saturday.
With 10 minutes to go, and Pirates down 6-0 to a superbly-drilled Mamelodi Sundowns team, the Buccaneers supporters stormed the field and what ensued was a maelstrom of violence and destruction. Order was later restored and the game was concluded, but the damage done to the image of the PSL, is certainly immeasurable.
On the back of that heavy defeat and national shame, the Soweto giants now have a tough PSL programme this week. On Wednesday, they host title-favourites Wits in Orlando and, then on Saturday night (kick-off 8.15pm), they are in the Mother City to take on log leaders Cape Town City at the Cape Town Stadium.
City are, of course, on a high after emerging victorious in the Cape derby - defeating neighbours Ajax Cape Town 2-0 at the Cape Town Stadium - and the result shifted them to the top of the PSL standings.
Ironically, as City coach Eric Tinkler prepares his team to face Pirates at the weekend, it’s interesting to note that the Buccaneers’ demise came soon after Tinkler’s departure. He was certainly not appreciated at the Soweto side, despite inspiring the team to the final of the CAF Confederations Cup. He left Pirates to join City and, ever since, they’ve been on an upward trajectory. In contrast, after Tinkler’s departure, Pirates have gone only one way - down.
But all of that, as Tinkler will be quick to admit, means nothing. Every game is different. What happened before counts for zero, it’s how a team performs on the day that determines the result. Tinkler, like most football followers, deplored the disgraceful events that took place at Loftus on Saturday.
“I think, when we talk about crowds and getting more people to the stadium, it’s not just a Cape problem, it’s a general PSL problem,” he said.
“We have to provide a good spectacle to get people to keep coming back. And that is why what happened at the Pirates-Sundowns game is not good for our football. What we saw there was the sport chasing fans away. It’s sad, and it’s that type of behaviour that keeps fans away and also chases away sponsors.”
The motto at City this season has been to focus on one game at a time. They don’t get too far ahead of themselves and assess the situation as it comes. While the next port of call is Pirates, Tinkler said the first target - 30 points - had been achieved.
City lead the PSL log with 31 points, followed by Kaizer Chiefs on 30, SuperSport United and Wits on 28 and Sundowns on 25.
“The 30 points are in the bag and the next target is 46 points,” said Tinkler. “I think that’s the figure that should ensure a top five finish. So, that’s what we are aiming for now I’m very proud of what we have achieved up to this stage. If you’d given me 17 games, 31 points, at the beginning of the season, I would certainly have taken it.
“But now the challenge is to keep going. We have to show the same commitment and determination as we have all season. We have to keep doing the same things, it’s about making what we do a habit.”