Orlando Pirates v Mamelodi Sundowns – Saturday 20th August – Orlando Stadium (15:00)
Orlando Pirates v Mamelodi Sundowns
This weekend local football turns its attention to the MTN 8. Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates avoided each other in the semi-final draw. Chiefs were drawn against last seasons’ league runners up Ajax while Pirates will meet Sundowns in another mouth-watering semi-final. Unlike the quarter-finals the semi-finals will be played over two legs, both home and away with the second legs scheduled for next weekend.
Orlando Pirates kicked-off their league campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over newly promoted Black Leopards. The highlight of the match was new signing Benni McCarthy scoring the second goal of the match in his debut after being on the pitch for only a few minutes. They will be looking to continue their winning ways and hopefully improve on their quarter-final performance against Santos when they failed to score in 90 minutes and scraped the win in extra time from a goalkeeping error. Brazilian Coach Julio Leal has got the team playing some attracting football and the midfield duo of Andile Jali and Oupa Manyisa so far this season has allowed Pirates to dominate every encounter. South African national Under-23 striker Bongani Ndulula is doing his thing upfront for the Buccaneers and this looks to be the season the youngster lives up to his great potential. The treble winning champions will be going all out to get the home win that would make the second leg much easier in their quest to defend their MTN 8 and to pick up their second trophy of the season after beating Kaizer Chiefs in the Black Label Cup.
Mamelodi Sundowns were held to a goalless draw by AmaZulu at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in their opening PSL fixture. The Brazilians have failed to implement their quality brand of football they have been known for and what has earned the 6 PSL titles since the beginning of the new league structure, more than any other PSL club. New Coach Johan Neeskens promised the fans beautiful football when he took over but has failed to deliver so far. Their main problem so far has been the inability to create sufficient goal scoring opportunities. The Sundowns fans are also concerned over team selection, the main one being Sundowns’ most consistent performer over the last two seasons, Matty Pattison, left on the bench so far. However they still have a quality squad and it is still early days for the Dutch man at the helm. They earned a good 1-0 victory against Bloemfontein Celtic in the quarter-final encounter. Ex Pirates star Teko Modise and star striker Katlego Mphela will be looking to impress in this big clash.
Orlando Pirates won both league meetings 2-1 last season and have looked the better team so far. The home win looks a good bet.
