ORLANDO Pirates believe they have fully recovered from their Champions League expedition and are ready to face domestic challenges at home.
Coach Roger de Sa, whose side came within a whisker of winning the CAF Champions League, losing to Al Ahly in the final last weekend, has braced himself for another bruising encounter against SuperSport United in the Telkom Knockout Challenge semifinal match at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
De Sa is aware that his side will be under the spotlight after their impressive showing in the Champions League.
But the Buccaneers are not cowed by the prospect of facing one of the trickiest teams in the country, having played against some of the strongest teams on the continent, which included TP Mazembe, Esperance and Ahly.
"It would be nice to play at home after such a long time," De Sa said.
"We missed our home fans after coming up against some of the most vociferous fans away from home.
"We are not disappointed at losing to one of the most experienced teams in Africa. We have learned a lot from this tournament and we look forward to our home fixtures.
"We have a lot of catching up to do, though."
There is a general belief that Bucs may have been mentally weakened by the taxing CAF assignments.
But De Sa said they have enough depth to cope with worries about player fatigue.
Matsatsantsa's coach Cavin Johnson, who is deservedly rated among the top coaches in the country, has enough ammunition to match Pirates, who go into the semifinals as favourites.
"All I can tell you is that we play good and exciting football and are always on the lookout for mistakes by our opponents," said Johnson.
The match will see the return of Pirates' two key players, Andile Jali and Happy Jele, who were suspended for the Champions League final.
This, however, is a completely different challenge and United will be no pushovers, having demonstrated their ability to match the PSL heavyweights.
Johnson will again look to the likes of David Mathebula, Bennett Chenene and Bradley Grobler for victory. The trio have been shouldering the goalscoring responsibilities for the Tshwane side.
In the other semifinal match, Kaizer Chiefs will be home to Platinum Stars at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
Pirates ready for KO test
ORLANDO Pirates believe they have fully recovered from their Champions League expedition and are ready to face domestic challenges at home.
Coach Roger de Sa, whose side came within a whisker of winning the CAF Champions League, losing to Al Ahly in the final last weekend, has braced himself for another bruising encounter against SuperSport United in the Telkom Knockout Challenge semifinal match at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
De Sa is aware that his side will be under the spotlight after their impressive showing in the Champions League.
But the Buccaneers are not cowed by the prospect of facing one of the trickiest teams in the country, having played against some of the strongest teams on the continent, which included TP Mazembe, Esperance and Ahly.
"It would be nice to play at home after such a long time," De Sa said.
"We missed our home fans after coming up against some of the most vociferous fans away from home.
"We are not disappointed at losing to one of the most experienced teams in Africa. We have learned a lot from this tournament and we look forward to our home fixtures.
"We have a lot of catching up to do, though."
There is a general belief that Bucs may have been mentally weakened by the taxing CAF assignments.
But De Sa said they have enough depth to cope with worries about player fatigue.
Matsatsantsa's coach Cavin Johnson, who is deservedly rated among the top coaches in the country, has enough ammunition to match Pirates, who go into the semifinals as favourites.
"All I can tell you is that we play good and exciting football and are always on the lookout for mistakes by our opponents," said Johnson.
The match will see the return of Pirates' two key players, Andile Jali and Happy Jele, who were suspended for the Champions League final.
This, however, is a completely different challenge and United will be no pushovers, having demonstrated their ability to match the PSL heavyweights.
Johnson will again look to the likes of David Mathebula, Bennett Chenene and Bradley Grobler for victory. The trio have been shouldering the goalscoring responsibilities for the Tshwane side.
In the other semifinal match, Kaizer Chiefs will be home to Platinum Stars at FNB Stadium on Saturday.
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