Moroka Swallows v Orlando Pirates – Saturday 5th November – Volkswagen Dobsonville Stadium (20:15)
Two Soweto giants, Orlando Pirates and Moroka Swallows, will face each other in the quarter-finals of the Telkom Knockout this weekend. The in-form Moroka Swallows, who beat Mamelodi Sundowns 3-0 in the last 16, host a Pirates side that beat Black Leopards 2-1 to proceed to the quarter-finals.
Moroka Swallows are coming off a 5 goal thriller where they came out victorious against last season’s runners-up Ajax Cape Town. The Birds have now won 5 of their last 7 games and lie 3rd on the league table, joint on 19 points with Kaizer Chiefs and 2 points behind log leaders SuperSport United. Gordon Igesund has rejuvenated a Swallows team who looked likely to be relegated last season and turned them into strong title contenders. The record four time league winning Manager with four different PSL teams also made some great additions to the team with the likes of David Mathabula from Chiefs and Joseph Makhanya from Pirates who have been key players so far for the Birds. The signing of seasoned former Bafana Bafana midfielder Macbeth Sibaya, and his return to full fitness, has also been an important influence and experienced strikers Siyabonga Nomvethe and Lerato Chabangu are giving defenders problems. Nomvethe is the league’s 2nd highest goal scorer with 6 goals.
Orlando Pirates picked up a valuable away win over Jomo Cosmos last weekend and they would be hoping that good form continues in their double header against their Soweto rivals. In a tie where Cosmos were wasteful, new Bucs signing Tokelo Rantie netted an 87th minute winner after Isaac Chansa’s 45th minute penalty cancelled out Siyabonga Nontshinga’s 29th minute effort for bottom-placed Ezenkosi. The win lifted the Premiership champions to fifth in the standings ahead of Wednesday’s league match with Moroka Swallows. New boy Tokelo Rantie’s goal could be the answer to Benni McCarthy’s absence as Coach Julio Leal tries to solve his goal scoring problems. The midfield partnership of Andile Jali, Oupa Manyisa and Isaac Chansa will need to be at their best to fend off the tough tackling Swallows midfield and control possession as they always do.
Swallows have been good at home but will need to be much more creative going forward against a strong Pirates defence who have only conceded 6 goals in 9 league games. The Buccaneers have showed promise in turning their form around and are tipped for the away win.
