Orlando Pirates kick off their Nedbank Cup title defence with a trip to Durban where they will be going toe-to-toe with Richards Bay. King Zwelithini Stadium hosts this crucial knockout fixture which gets underway on Sunday.
Following a recent disruption to their schedule, it’s a return to domestic cup football for the Soweto Giants as they begin their venture to extend their reign as champions in the illustrious competition. They recently achieved a similar feat in the MTN8 where they bagged a third straight title. First up on their sights is a side that promises to provide a stiff challenge in what is one of a few all-Premiership match-ups in the opening round.
Form Guide
Knockout football has been a consistent feature for the Bucs throughout the season. They began their campaign with a successful MTN8 run which was quickly followed by involvement in the CAF Champions League preliminary rounds. They have recently advanced past the group stage through to the quarter-finals of the latter, with their cup record still only blemished by an early exit from the Carling Knockout.
The game against the Natal Rich Boyz arrives after a run of consecutive victories against CR Belouizdad of Algeria and Egyptian giants Al Ahly, while boasting four wins in their last five matches across competitions. Their only defeat in this sequence was in their most recent domestic outing, which was a league game away to Cape Town City which finished 1-0 in favour of the hosts.
In attempting to further cement their status as South Africa’s cup kings, Pirates cannot afford a similar slip-up against the men from KwaZulu-Natal who have had a brief but promising taste of cup football so far this season. They made it past the first two rounds of the Carling Knockout – going past Sekhukhune United and Cape Town City – before exiting in the semifinals.
While they have displayed glimpses of their ability to prevail in the pressure situations associated with cup football, similar success in the league has eluded them. They have so far amassed just two wins in 14 Premiership fixtures. They have failed to get over the line in four of their five most recent games, falling on the losing side three times while winning once and collecting a single draw.
With somewhat of a clean slate presented by their clash against the Buccaneers, the main item on their agenda will be to spark their season back to life with a famous victory. Their opponents, on the other hand, will go in determined to continue their dominance in the competition having played an impressive 10 matches since their last Nedbank Cup defeat.
Team News
Bucs coach José Riveiro will be forced to do a bit of shuffling at the back, due to the unavailability of defender Nkosinathi Sibisi. The 29-year-old is suspended for the fixture after picking up his fourth yellow card for the season in Cape Town.
Pirates will also be without Thabiso Monyane who is recovering from a hamstring injury picked up in the same fixture. A few more players are on the mend however, with Olisa Ndah and Goodman Mosele among those primed for a return in the near future.
Key Players
Sipho Chaine (Orlando Pirates): Key to Pirates’ excellent start to the season has been their defence, and the man between the sticks has been an important component in that regard. Chaine has kept six clean sheets in the league so far and 13 in all competitions, while his ball-playing ability adds an extra dimension to the team.
Yanela Mbuthuma (Richards Bay): The young centre-forward continues to grow into a key player for the Rich Boyz, effortlessly adapting to his role as the main man upfront. Half the goals scored by the hosts in all competitions this season have come off Mbuthuma’s boot while he also has an assist to his name, underlining his importance to the cause.
Head-to-Head
While recent form suggests a favourable match-up for the Buccaneers, they will be fully aware that there are never any guarantees in knockout football. Their hosts have showcased that at Moses Mabhida Stadium in the not-so-distant past when they edged past them on penalties during the second round of the 2023 Carling Knockout – a fixture that remains the only cup meeting between the two sides so far.
Aside from that particular upset, Riveiro’s men have had a slight upper hand in games against the KZN outfit as they boast wins in three of the six league games played between the two. The most recent of these was during the earlier part of the ongoing season, where Pirates only needed a solitary strike from Evidence Makgopa to collect all three points at King Zwelithini.
While not short of fireworks, their fixtures have not produced a flurry of goals with only five scored in regulation time throughout the seven encounters played to date. It is the Soweto Giants who lead comfortably in this regard as they account for four of these, while the Natal Rich Boyz only managed to find the net in their shock 1-0 win at Orlando Stadium towards the end of the 2023/24 league campaign.
