Bucs stay grounded despite victory

ORLANDO Pirates are keeping their feet firmly on the ground after their historic Caf Champions League victory at the weekend.

The Buccaneers routed Egyptian giants Zamalek 4-1 at Orlando Stadium on Saturday to remain top of Group A with seven points.

Despite the emphatic win, Pirates coach Roger de Sa is not getting carried away and has reminded his players that they have not won anything yet.

"Yes, we have won. But we haven't won anything yet," said De Sa. "This is another victory. We might still not quality for the next round despite the two massive victories over the Egyptian sides.

"We can't look too far ahead. It's not every day you manage to score four goals against top sides like Zamalek. But we can't run away from the fact that they were a little weakened, given the problem they are going through in their country."

Pirates have been in scintillating form in the continental competition. Lennox Bacela put the home side in the lead, but Mahmoud Fadlalla swiftly pulled Zamalek level in the opening half.

But the Buccaneers tore into the visitors in the second half, regaining the lead through Tlou Segolela and then Sifiso Myeni.

Daine Klate, who had one of his best games in a Pirates shirt, fittingly sealed a remarkable victory over the five-time Champions League winners with the fourth.

"It's another good result in this competition and we just have to continue to build on this," said De Sa. "We still made mistakes and so we still have a lot of areas to work on. We conceded a silly goal after we went 1-0 up and maybe on a different day we wouldn't be able to bounce back. We can't afford to make such mistakes at this level. We played well and I don't think we are a team that should be playing for a draw."

De Sa reckons Bucs play better against opponents who come and attack as opposed to those who sit back. But he is also aware it'll be tough away from home. "We hope problems gets fixed in Egypt so that we can go and experience the real football there," said De Sa.

"We also know that going to their home ground in a couple of weeks' time is going to be difficult. Those upcoming games will be open and so we have to give ourselves a chance."

Bucs next face Zamalek and Congo's AC Leopards away before hosting Al Ahly next month in what is expected to be a testing schedule. De Sa also said Andile Jali, who hobbled off with an injury early in the game, will be okay for the next game.