THEY'VE hit Mamelodi Sundowns and Polokwane City out of the ballpark with attacking bravura in recent weeks, but after defeat to Kaizer Chiefs last weekend Orlando Pirates have turned their attention to their defence.
The Buccaneers travel to Port Elizabeth to take on Chippa United at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at 3pm tomorrow having surrendered the MTN8 title to their arch-rivals in Durban.
Pirates beat Bidvest Wits 1-0, City 3-0 and Sundowns 3-0 in their past three league matches but the rosy picture was smudged by the 1-0 loss to Amakhosi.
Assistant coach Eric Tinkler said: "It will be important to rectify the errors we made in defence, particularly during the dead-ball situation. It was the only real problem area that we faced in last weekend's game against Chiefs and we've worked on it this week.
"I don't think Chiefs created any goalscoring chances in open play. If we go back to the goals we've conceded so far this season, I think four have come from set-pieces.
"Obviously those were a major concern and we've had to rectify the mistakes in training. That said, I don't expect there to be major personnel changes because the team hasn't been playing badly. We made one error and we got punished for it."
The central defensive pairing of Ayanda Gcaba and Siyabonga Sangweni will have to be on alert to prevent United striker David Zulu from enhancing his reputation at their expense.
Increasingly, it seems, daredevil Rooi Mahamutsa's error-ridden performances earlier this season have left him isolated from the pack.
The Sea Robbers are pursuing their hot rivals Chiefs as they look to cut down the seven-point deficit at the top of the Premiership log.
Tinkler, though, wants the players to get their minds off the ominous Amakhosi shadow that hovers over all the other PSL teams at the moment and get the three points against United.
"If you want to win league titles, you need to ensure that you win these types of games."
Bucs shift focus
THEY'VE hit Mamelodi Sundowns and Polokwane City out of the ballpark with attacking bravura in recent weeks, but after defeat to Kaizer Chiefs last weekend Orlando Pirates have turned their attention to their defence.
The Buccaneers travel to Port Elizabeth to take on Chippa United at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at 3pm tomorrow having surrendered the MTN8 title to their arch-rivals in Durban.
Pirates beat Bidvest Wits 1-0, City 3-0 and Sundowns 3-0 in their past three league matches but the rosy picture was smudged by the 1-0 loss to Amakhosi.
Assistant coach Eric Tinkler said: "It will be important to rectify the errors we made in defence, particularly during the dead-ball situation. It was the only real problem area that we faced in last weekend's game against Chiefs and we've worked on it this week.
"I don't think Chiefs created any goalscoring chances in open play. If we go back to the goals we've conceded so far this season, I think four have come from set-pieces.
"Obviously those were a major concern and we've had to rectify the mistakes in training. That said, I don't expect there to be major personnel changes because the team hasn't been playing badly. We made one error and we got punished for it."
The central defensive pairing of Ayanda Gcaba and Siyabonga Sangweni will have to be on alert to prevent United striker David Zulu from enhancing his reputation at their expense.
Increasingly, it seems, daredevil Rooi Mahamutsa's error-ridden performances earlier this season have left him isolated from the pack.
The Sea Robbers are pursuing their hot rivals Chiefs as they look to cut down the seven-point deficit at the top of the Premiership log.
Tinkler, though, wants the players to get their minds off the ominous Amakhosi shadow that hovers over all the other PSL teams at the moment and get the three points against United.
"If you want to win league titles, you need to ensure that you win these types of games."
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