SuperSport United coach Gavin Hunt is not reading too much into Orlando Pirates’ first Absa Premiership defeat of the season — a 1-0 loss to Santos at the Orlando Stadium on the weekend.
Hunt leads the defending Premiership champions against Bucs in a top-of-the-table clash at Atteridgeville’s Super Stadium on Wednesday night. Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
United warmed up for this clash with a 5-0 thrashing of struggling Mpumalanga Black Aces in their Saturday fixture played in Witbank.
Both clubs are locked on 19 points after 10 fixtures.
Said Hunt: ”All teams lose at some stage of the season and Pirates are still a very good side.
”They will be even more dangerous now that they have lost their unbeaten record and it is going to be another really tough night for us. We will have to stay focused and concentrate for 90 minutes.”
Hunt was pleased with United’s easy win over Aces and said he was particularly happy with the finishing off of chances created.
”So many times this season we have created goal-scoring chances but failed to take them. But as long as we keep making chances then I cannot complain.
”Goals will come if the chances are there.”
But Hunt stressed he would not allow his players to relax and get carried away.
”Aces will struggle away from home this season. We did well to beat them convincingly in their backyard and it was their first defeat at home, but we all know Pirates will be a lot harder and a tougher side to beat.”
Pirates looked anything but a side on top of the table when they lost to Santos, and coach Ruud Krol appears to be under pressure.
His strikers are firing blanks, his midfield looked disjointed with playmaker Teko Modise struggling with fatigue, and defensively Pirates looked shaky.
Modise has been overworked at club and Bafana Bafana level and it is showing.
But it is unlikely that Krol will gamble in dropping the Bucs fans’ talisman to give him a much-needed break.
Strikers Terror Fanteni and Gert Schalkwyk, who started against Santos, failed to show a good understanding of each other, and what is of major concern to the former Dutch captain is the fact his strike force has scored only nine goals — less than one goal a game and four of those came in the match against bottom club Jomo Cosmos — while United have scored 18 on their 10 fixtures. — Sapa