Orlando Pirates, fresh from their morale-boosting 2-1 win over Santos in an MTN8 quarterfinal showdown at the Orlando Stadium on Sunday, head into uncharted territory for their opening Absa Premiership clash against newly promoted Vasco da Gama at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday.
Bucs coach Ruud Krol confessed he was in the dark as to what he and his players can expect. “I saw Vasco playing last season, but they have signed a new team for the PSL, so they are an unknown quantity to me.
“Secondly, playing at 6pm is an unusual time and thirdly, this will be the first time we play at the new Cape Town Stadium.”
The Vasco-Bucs fixture is part of a PSL double-header experiment. The match will be followed at 8.45pm with the showdown between Ajax Cape Town and Bloemfontein Celtic.
The PSL decided to stage a double-header in a bid to attract more fans to the game in Cape Town and to the 55 000-seater stadium that was custom built for the recent World Cup.
There are fears the Cape Town Stadium could become a white elephant if not used regularly by both soccer and rugby.
But Krol was thrilled with the victory by his new-look Buccaneers over gutsy Santos. “It is always tough playing the first official match of the season. We lacked rhythm, but the competition for places is healthy.
“I was happy with our midfield and that augers well for our opening league fixture. We have a few days to straighten out our mistakes.”
Krol will be looking to beef up his attack. His new Malawian international striker, Chiukepo Msowoya, struggled on debut and was replaced at halftime by Ndumiso Mabena.
“The only way to find out Msowoya’s strengths and weaknesses is by fielding him in competitive matches and that is what I did today [Sunday]. I know now what I have to work on with him.”
He will have two key defenders, Rooi Mahamutsa and Happy Jele, plus midfielder Thulasizwe Mbuyane back from suspension for the Vasco clash.
‘A team needs a bit of luck in cup matches’
Man of the match was Zambian midfielder Francis Chansa, who opened the scoring with a spectacular 18th-minute goal, and said he was confident he can score a lot more for Pirates this season.
Krol is only too aware of the pressing urgency to bring a trophy to Pirates after a long barren spell. Pirates last won the league title in 2003 and the top eight competition a decade ago.
“A team needs a bit of luck in cup matches and I hope we get some this season.”
While Msowoya struggled, another debutant, Daine Klate, endeared himself to the Bucs fans by scoring the winner in the 61st minute.
Klate, who joined Bucs from PSL champions SuperSport United, will be an asset to his new club.
Klate and Tlou Segolela, who returned after a loan spell at Celtic, have given Krol more options on the wings. Both players can play comfortable on either wing and that versatility is a big plus.
Krol, who was one of the finest defenders in The Netherlands during the 1970s and captained his country, said defenders get used to a winger as the game progresses and that was why he switched Segolela and Klate.
“It worked because it confuses defenders and added a new dimension to our game.”
Santos coach Boebie Solomons congratulated Pirates on reaching the semifinals and added: “Pirates are a huge club with major resources. This was our first competitive match and I need to go back to the drawing board before our opening league match [away to Free State Stars on Saturday].
“We have learnt a lot in this match and we need to get match fit.” — Sapa