Bidvest Wits v Orlando Pirates – Saturday 10th December – Moses Mabhida (20:15)
Siyabonga Sangweni
This Saturday will see Bidvest Wits face Orlando Pirates in the Telkom Knockout Final that will be held at the majestic Moses Mabhida Stadium. A cracker is expected as both sides seek to win their first Telkom Knockout Cup titles.
Bidvest Wits Coach Roger De Sa seems to have both eyes firmly fixed on the Telkom Knockout final after resting some key players in their 2-2 draw with Lamontville Golden Arrows last weekend. The Clever Boys thrashed Santos 3-0 in their semi-final and will be hungry for more Cup glory after winning the 2010 Nedbank Cup last season. They now lie 8th in the league after what was a slow start to the season for the talented young team. Their most impressive display came 3 weeks ago where they thrashed Pirates 3-1 at home where in-form striker Ryan Chapman stole the show. That win will give them big confidence coming up against the Soweto giants in such a big match. However they are well aware that Orlando Pirates consider KZN their “home away from home” and Wits’ mediocre league standing is due to the fact that they have won just 1 of 5 away matches this season. So Coach Roger De Sa has a tough task of turning that poor away record around. Ryan Chapman, who scored two goals in Wits’ league win over Pirtaes, is breaming with confidence at the moment and the 24 year old is playing some scintillating football and has been dangerous going forward all season bagging 6 goals in the process.
Orlando Pirates beat SuperSport United 3-0 to hand Gavin Hunt’s side their first League loss of the season at Orlando Stadium last Saturday night. Goals from Benni McCarthy, Isaac Chansa and Ndumiso Mabena saw the Buccaneers to a deserved victory at Orlando Stadium and signalled that the reigning league champions will not relinquish their crown without a fight. They have done well to turn their form around and are on a 3 match winning streak and now lie just 7 points off SuperSport United. Siyabonga Sangweni and Rooi Mahamutsahave have got the backline organised, conceding just 1 goal in the last 3 matches. Pirates booked their place in the Telkom Knockout final with a 3-1 win over Golden Arrows in the same venue the final will be held.
Pirates will be seeking revenge for their 3-1 Absa Premiership defeat to Wits, but they’ll have to be right on their game against Roger De Sa’s bright young Clever Boys. A high intensity end to end match is expected and with Pirates looking solid they are tipped to beat the Clever Boys here.
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