A match between two of the current top teams in South African top-flight football is coming up when Mamelodi Sundowns visit Orlando Pirates for a highly anticipated reverse league fixture on Sunday afternoon at the FNB Stadium.
It has been a good week for Masandawana, following their 2-0 victory at home against Amazulu FC during the week and to conclude this week on a high note, they will need to record a victory and complete a double in Soweto when they meet their Orlando Pirates counterparts, who managed to only collect a point after sharing spoils with Stellenbosch FC on Tuesday.
The last meeting between the two sides is as fresh as paint and still etched in the minds of those who witnessed the brilliance that was shoe, shine and piano at Loftus Versfeld. Goals from Grant Kekana, Lucas Ribeiro, and Teboho Mokoena helped coach Miguel Cardoso’s side emerge victorious in an exciting sold-out affair.
As they head to this reverse fixture, the main objective is to leave Soweto with maximum points. Speaking to coach Miguel on Thursday at a press conference, he said his side’s focus is on treating this fixture the same way they have treated past matches, with respect.
“We see this one as the next match to be played in the PSL. A match that we need to approach similarly to the previous ones. We need to understand how they might play, who they put on the lineup, and what they can do that they were unable to do the last time they met, should they try to surprise us. We will try to pass on the details that are important for the match to the players and work on ways to approach this game,” the coach said.
Downs Forward, Peter Shalulile also looked ahead to the meeting and said he anticipates an exciting encounter. He further encouraged the Yellow Nation to come out in numbers to support the team, saying, “It’s going to be a hard game. Orlando Pirates are a big Club but we are going to do what we do best which is to work hard, follow the coach’s plan and do our best on the day. It’s going to be an exciting match, one which is worth coming to the stadium to watch. So, we encourage the Yellow Nation to come in numbers because they are the ones who encourage us and we look forward to making them proud.”
Mamelodi Sundowns will face Orlando Pirates on Sunday afternoon at the FNB Stadium. Kick-off has been scheduled for 15H30, live on SuperSport TV and SABC.
Masandawana i think it was a good thing for us to lose the pirates game, this is the best time to feel the pain of losing so that we focus every time we get into the field to play a game. against Pirates we started very bad and we conceded 2 quick goals, @ Coach always avoid exposing Suarez in the flanks, play Sailor and Morena on the wings. Let us make sure that we switch on guys we don’t have time to lose games from now onwards, We need to win the Nedbank, Caf and the Premier league.