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Jerry sure Bucs can emulate Class of '95

The man who scored Orlando Pirates' most famous goal has a "good feeling" that Sunday's CAF Confederation Cup final against Etoile du Sahel will go the Buccaneers' way.

Jerry Sikhosana, whose goal against Asec Mimosa brought Pirates' - and Southern Africa's - only CAF Champions League title in 1995, pointed to "similarities" between the Bucs of 20 years ago and now.

"We were similarly not given a chance against Asec. They were an all-conquering side, who had a fearsome home record," legend Sikhosana recalled of the two-legged ties between Pirates and the Ivorian side, who scored two precious away goals in SA only for Sikhosana to find a winner in Abidjan as the Soweto side triumphed 3-2 on aggregate.

On Sunday in Sousse, Pirates will face what's expected to be a hostile home crowd as they seek to follow in the footsteps of the Class of '95 by overcoming Etoile, who are supposedly in the driving seat following last week's 1-1 drawn first leg at Orlando.

"Etoile, like Asec then, may have a good home record, but it means nothing. When we played Asec they left here celebrating. They told us at their home it's a matter of how many goals we would concede. I mean, they had scored two at our home venue. So they had every right to be over-confident."

But a long clearance from Mark Fish sent Sikhosana clear, and the striker raced to net the sole goal, stunning a packed Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium into silence.

Sikhosana believes Pirates can leave the Sousse crowd in a similar trance on Sunday. "Pirates must simply forget about what happened in the first leg. This is a new game and if they score, Etoile must chase the game."

Mistakes of last weekend, according to Sikhosana, included Pirates retreating into a defensive shell after taking the lead. "It was clear that the aim after scoring [through Thamsanqa Gabuza] was to protect the goal, instead of looking for another one. That was totally unnecessary. They sat back and confirmed that their plan was to consolidate when Issa Sarr came on.

"Unfortunately, his only contribution was to concede free-kicks, and one of them led to a goal for Etoile," Sikhosana observed.

He believes Kermit Erasmus has a chance of becoming a hero on Sunday. "I have a good feeling Kermit will score and Pirates will win. After all, they have done so well away."

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