Sundowns face wounded Bucs

MAMELODI Sundowns will tonight look to secure only their second win in the SA Premiership.

But it is difficult to see the Brazilians break their seven-match winless streak against defending champions Orlando Pirates, their visitors at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria.

Kickoff is at 7.30pm.

This crucial clash will see two sides who had different fortunes in the Telkom Knockout quarterfinals at the weekend.

The Brazilians booked a spot in the semifinals of the competition, while title holders Buccaneers were booted out by Bloemfontein Celtic in a dramatic fashion on the road on Sunday afternoon.

But Downs' performance in their Cup victory against battling AmaZulu did not convince many that they have truly turned the corner and can finally register their first win in the Premier League since beating upstarts Chippa United 1-0 in their league's opener.

It is frustrating for the fans, and more importantly club owner Patrice Motsepe. But the president's backing of coach Johan Neeskens has not wavered.

The Chloorkop-based side, spoiled for choice as far as quality players are concerned, has only managed to score three goals in eight league encounters. Three different players accounted for those rare strikes.

Pirates haven't been prolific in front of goal either, with an average of one goal per game since the season began.

Sundowns' winger Anthony Laffor, who has claimed back his spot in the starting line-up after weeks on the sidelines, tried to make sense of it all. "It's frustrating to try and explain what is happening at Sundowns, especially when we are doing well in the Cup but not in the league. The fans need to see us win more games and the players need it as well."

Against Pirates, they face wounded giants desperate to close the gap on log leaders Kaizer Chiefs and second-placed University of Pretoria. They are third on the log, four points off the pace. Sundowns welcome back left-back Punch Masenamela who missed the AmaZulu match because of suspension. But Neeskens will be forced to reshuffle his back four again as Clayton Daniels is unavailable.

Pirates are still recovering from news that key defender Rooi Mahamutsa will miss the rest of the season after he tore an Achilles, while Andile Jali has joined the injury list for three weeks.

The big boost, however, comes in the form of striker Benni McCarthy, who is likely to start on the bench tonight. McCarthy has been injured since September.