PRETORIA - Kjell Jonevret heaped praises on his side’s performance against Free State Stars by saying Orlando Pirates gave a good account of themselves after beating Ea Lla Koto 4-1 in the Nedbank Cup on Saturday.
That result came as a sweet revenge for the Sea Robbers after going down by a 3-2 scoreline to the Bethlehem-based outfit in the very same venue two weeks ago leading up to this Nedbank Cup competition fixture.
“The biggest difference, if I were to compare this match to the one we played against Free State Stars (two) weeks ago, is we worked more as a unit this time around (as compared to their first visit there),” Jonevret said. “We gave an okay performance in the first half but it’s the second period that I was most happy with. We played good offensive football and as a result, ended up scoring more goals. It was a nice revenge we were hoping to produce there.”
With Pirates now out of the league title race, the Swedish-born coach said he believed his side stood a chance of winning the Nedbank Cup title, should they continue playing like they did against Ea Lla Koto this past weekend.
“It will all depend on the draw,” Jonevret said of the Nedbank Cup last eight. “But I believe we stand a good chance of winning it compared to other teams. Cup matches are always a bit difficult to come out with a winning result but if we can continue playing like this, most teams are going to have a difficult time playing against us (in this cup competition).
Asked if he expected his side to score the four goals they were able to produce in that encounter, Jonevret said: “You can never expect four goals (from your team as a coach).
"But I saw it in their eyes after that defeat against Stars in our league tie." Pirates will host Maritzburg United on Tuesday night in a league tie at Orlando Stadium (Kick-off 7.30pm), and the 54-year-old coach said he expected a difficult encounter against the KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit.
As it stands, Pirates are 12th on the Premiership standings with 23 points after 21 league matches played, while the Team of Choice hold the eighth place position with 26 points from 22 games.
“It’s going to be tough one for us,” Jonevret said. “We only have a two-day rest before we lock horns with Maritzburg United. It’s a very important fixture for us because it has been over a month now since we last played at home.”