Johannesburg – Orlando Pirates’ successful quest for a second place finish in the Premiership and the Nedbank Cup trophy could see them being crowned the PSL Team of the Year.
Already R8 million richer after winning the MTN8, Pirates have a chance of ending the season with R22, 5 million if they claim these two honours, which are worth R14,5 million combined.
So far, though, Mamelodi Sundowns are the only outfit that are guaranteed huge profits as they’ve already bagged R18m – R15m for winning the title and R3m for winning the Q1 and Q2 Innovations.
Pirates’ successful challenge for the remaining honours could see them complete a domestic double and Caf Champions League qualifying spot, their first decent season since winning the domestic treble a decade ago.
However, the Sea Robbers’ camp is not thinking that far ahead – just yet – as they’ll have to sail over each hurdle first.
So with their next assignment against Cape Town City in the league tomorrow afternoon in Orlando, Pirates are putting all their focus on that game, especially after the Citizens’ 2-1 win in the reverse leg.
“We don’t want to lose focus at all because that can jeopardise our chances of achieving our objectives,” Pirates midfielder Thabang Monare told the Sowetan this week.
“The only way to avoid losing focus at this stage is to take it one game at a time. Whenever we talk as a team these days, we place great emphasis on only thinking about the task at hand.
“Now our focus is on Cape Town City, nothing else. We will start thinking about the Nedbank Cup when we start the week of the game (against Kaizer Chiefs).”
Monare is right. Pirates can’t afford to start thinking about the Nedbank Cup semi-final against rivals Chiefs on May 6 at FNB, even though they want to end their five-game losing streak in the derby.
The Citizens, moreover, will not be a walk in the park given that they, too, are making a late push for the Caf qualifying spot as they occupy fifth on the log and are eight points behind the third-placed Pirates.
So it is for that reason that Pirates cannot be all over the place, as they know that a win against City would see them leapfrog SuperSport United to the second-place spot.
“We are a big team, and we know that City will be determined to complete a double over us after beating us in Cape Town in the first round. We have to avoid losing to them again,” Monare said.
“A team of Pirates’ magnitude must not allow teams to complete doubles over them, so we must defend our dignity at all costs.
“We are not motivated by revenge, but what is important to us is to win to maintain our momentum [having won four games in a row in the league].”
@Mihlalibaleka
IOL Sport