JOHANNESBURG – Orlando Pirates coach Micho Sredojevic has called on his players to forget their win over Kaizer Chiefs ahead of their meeting with Cape Town City.
The Citizens host the Buccaneers at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday in the Nedbank Cup last-16.
While Pirates are on a high following their good run, City have had a mixed bag of results, which makes them tricky opponents as you can never be too sure which side will turn up.
“The win over our rivals Kaizer Chiefs was a good injection of confidence in terms of results,” Sredojevic said. “But we are never carried away. We have the highest degree of respect for our opponents. With humility we have accepted that we beat our rivals.
“But that doesn’t count for anything if we don’t refocus, concentrate and play even much better than we did against Chiefs in that match.”
The Buccaneers’ last trip to Cape Town didn’t end well. They lost 3-0 to Ajax Cape Town in a match they dominated, but left with nothing to show for it.
We are hungry because we haven’t played a match since the Soweto Derby. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
But Sredojevic would like to see a repeat some of the things they did in that match.
“We are a bit hungry for football because we haven’t played a match since the Soweto Derby almost two weeks ago,” Sredojevic said.
“We worked well since then after giving the players a short break. We focused on the things that we didn’t do well in the Soweto Derby, while being proud of the things that we did okay, which means bettering them in the future.
“We are looking forward to the game against Cape Town City. They are coached by a very good coach with top individuals.
“We know that there is a possibility of thinking that Johannesburg teams struggle in Cape Town. Yes, the weather is different, but I don’t think that’s a factor. We would be happy and proud if we have the same performance that we displayed against Ajax Cape Town, but of course with a much better conversion rate and being tighter at the back.
“We want to show that what happened (on our last trip to Cape Town) was one of those instances when you just have a bad day at the office, but isn't a reflection of who we are as a team.”
@NJABULON
IOL Sport