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| Orlando Pirates © Gallo Images |
Advancement to the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal remains ALS Puk Tawana's main concern – not the calibre of their last 16 opponents.
The Second Division side face Orlando Pirates in a last 16 match at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday night (8-15pm kick off) fresh off the back of a shock 3-2 win over Platinum Stars in the previous round.
ALS Puk Tawana coach Zipho Dlangalala says his team will not be overawed by the stature of their opposition, nor will they be cocky after eliminating Stars from the tournament.
"Our objective or our focus is not about Pirates, it’s about reaching the next stage, and its about the players getting the opportunity and platform to show what they can do.
"When we beat Stars we said that we wanted more games like this (against PSL opposition), and now we have our wish in that we will play Pirates.
“Our objective remains through to get to the next round and get even more exposure for the club and the players," said Dlangalala.
The Puks coach explains what he believes will be key to his team on Saturday night against the Buccaneers:
"We need to be alert at all times. And we need to play our natural game like we did against Stars. There are things we can improve on from our performance against Stars, after all many of our players are under 21-years old.
"But I believe that the biggest lesson we learnt from the previous game was that goals win matches," said Dlangalala.
Pirates would have taken note last week of how the likes of Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows and Ajax Cape Town all bowed out the tournament.
The 2000s have been a barren decade for the Buccaneers – the last time the Soweto giants lifted a major trophy was back in 2003 season when they won the Premier League title.
Perhaps 2010 could be Pirates’ year? One player who certainly deserves to taste glory, for his consistently outstanding performances, is Dikgang Mabalane.
The former Cosmos winger rarely disappoints with his pace, skill and game intelligence out on the right.
With Chiefs’ shock loss to FC Cape Town in mind, Mabalane points out that cup football is tailored to provide upsets.
"I have always said that cup football is very different, it’s not like league football where you pick up from where you left off in the previous game
“On the day you must deliver and the match can go either way. We saw what happened when a team takes it chances and the manner of victory does not matter – it’s the key moments in the game that count,” said ‘The Terminator’.
Mabalane believes the Sea Robbers cannot afford to mess around in front of goal – chances must be buried as if their lives depend upon it, and the more the better:
“One team can dominate the match, but miss 10 scoring chances while it takes on one opportunity for the opposition to score.
“It would be better if we score first. But if that happens we must not sit back thinking we are ok now, we need to keep the pressure on and it’s critical that we bury the chances that we get.
“We need to show the opposition we are in the big league – not my talking, but by our action on the field.”
Pirates are expected to have both Isaac Chansa and Dennis Masina up for selection, the midfield duo having recovered from injury, while Rooi Mahamutsa will return from suspension.
Puk Tawana will go into battle with the same squad that beat Dinaledi, the only exception being the absence of the suspended Thabo Maselwa, who was sent off against Stars.
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