Will Arrows catch Pirates cold?

Quincy Ngcobo of Golden Arrows. Photo: Muzi Ntombela

Quincy Ngcobo of Golden Arrows. Photo: Muzi Ntombela

Published Aug 24, 2016

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Durban – Continuity versus change is the main difference between Golden Arrows and Orlando Pirates, who face each other in their Absa Premiership opener in Soweto tonight.

Arrows are well set in their ways under a stable technical team of head coach Clinton Larsen and deputy Mandla Ncikazi, whereas their hosts are in transition with fiery Turkish coach Muhsin Ertugral making his competitive debut in the dugout, along with new assistant Bradley Carnell.

The core of the Buccaneers team is the same as last season, but change comes in the manner that Ertugral will want them to play.

Patterns and structures will be tweaked as the new boss blends newcomers Abbubaker Mobara, Thabiso Kutumela and Ghanaian winger Bernard Morrison, among others, into the line-up.

Defender Mobara is suspended, having arrived from Ajax Cape Town with a one-match ban.

The return of regular starter Oupa Manyisa from a long-term injury, together with fellow experienced personnel such as Issa Sarr and Thabo Matlaba, will help Ertugral instil his philosophy.

Arrows will hope to catch Pirates cold. Before Bucs find their rhythm, the Durbanites can cause a few surprises through their newcomers to the league, Zimbabwean midfielder Danny Phiri and Kenyan winger Clifton Miheso.

Fast and furious is how Arrows closed last season in ninth spot. With the injection of experienced personnel such as Wayde Jooste, Limbikani Mzava and Lerato Lamola they will expect to add some fluidity as well.

The transfer ties between the sides lends extra spice to some of the duels. Besides Larsen being a former Pirates player and Ertugral an ex-Arrows coach, Bucs recalled midfielder Gladwin Shitolo from his loan spell at Arrows last term and signed defender Thembela Sikhakhane from their friendly foes.

Arrows could have an advantage due to the fact that Pirates might have one eye on the MTN8 cup tie against Bidvest Wits three days later.

There won’t be shortage of familiarity either when Maritzburg United visit Bloemfontein Celtic in one of tonight’s other opening-round games.

Maritzburg coach Ernst Middendorp and his deputy Fadlu Davids coached Celtic the previous season, and unsurprisingly enticed some of their new signings from the Free State.

Among these are defender Bevan Fransman and goalkeeper Bongani Mpandle from Celtic, and striker Andrea Fileccia and defender Themba Shabalala from Free State Stars. Earlier last season Maritzburg also secured attacker Gregory Maasdorp and defender Tumelo Mogapi from Celtic.

However, the home side lost a fair number of players in the off season. They spent little on fresh faces, relying largely on in-house development.

In that light the Team of Choice have an edge, and could feel confident of starting the campaign on a brighter note than last season when they just avoided relegation.

“We have had a very good pre-season and we are fully prepared,” said Maritzburg chairman Farook Kadodia.

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