Pirates take no prisoners

Orlando Pirates’ coach Milutin Sredojevic hopes that their 2-1 win over Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday will have the desired psychological effect on the players for the remainder of the campaign.

The Buccaneers came from a goal down‚ including a missed penalty‚ to beat Chiefs.

Pirates are among the favourites to win the league championship at the end of the season and they are still alive in the Telkom Knockout.

and stay second on the log with only one point separating them from log-leaders Bidvest Wits on the Absa Premiership standings.

A full house of more than 90‚000 supporters watched an entertaining match-up when Chiefs took the lead through Khama Billiat in the 15th minute‚ but Pirates powered back through goals by Innocent Maela (29th) and Vincent Pule (32nd).

“Psychologically‚ you can get so much knowing that you have won a match of this magnitude and this could serve as an injection of motivation and self- belief‚” said Sredojevic.

“For us‚ it was a match like any other because we could not get more than three points but confidence is never enough.

“Players or a team without confidence is like a balloon without air‚ we look to inject our players because matches that we have ahead of us are tough.”

Pirates are among the favourites to win the league championship at the end of the season and they are still alive in the Telkom Knockout, where they are up against AmaZulu in the second round of the competition.

There is also the Nedbank Cup and the Caf Champions League later in the season and Sredojevic wants his players to remain grounded after the derby triumph but keep the momentum going.

“The door is open for players who are not playing because very soon we shall have those Caf Champions League qualifiers and other related matches that will bring us into an abnormal situation.

“The draw for the Champions League will be made in December and in five months they need to finish the season from preliminaries‚ group stages‚ quarterfinals‚ semifinals and final.

“When you look at the local league‚ it is an unbelievable situation but you must have an answer for all those things.

Meanwhile, Kaizer Chiefs coach Giovanni Solinas apologised to his team’s supporters for his side’s defeat.

“We started the game very well. We scored – we led 1-0‚” Solinas said.

“After that [in the first half] we lost concentration. We lost the distances and defensively it was soft.

“In the second half the guys performed very well. We created the chances.

“I think this derby was balanced. Pirates did not dominate‚ maybe Kaizer Chiefs did not dominate.

“But congratulations to Pirates for winning this derby.”

Chiefs next meet SuperSport United in the Telkom Knockout quarterfinals at FNB next weekend‚ with the final times and exact day yet to be announced by the Premier Soccer League. - TimesLIVE