It was Roger de Sa who brought Eric Tinkler to Orlando Pirates and the Ajax Cape Town coach might well find himself on the receiving end of insults tonight, should his team triumph at Orlando Stadium.

De Sa takes his Urban Warriors to the Soweto venue for an Absa Premiership meeting with the Buccaneers, as many among the Ghost rue the fact that it was he who bequeathed them Tinkler as a coach, after recruiting him as his assistant on joining Pirates in 2012.

De Sa visits Orlando - a venue where he received his fair share of derision during his tumultous tenure at Bucs - seeking to maintain his team's new-found form at the expense of his friend Tinkler.

Separated by two points in the standings, the situation couldn't be more desperate for either coach, although it is Tinkler, with a single win this year, who cannot afford to drop points as Pirates' schedule for this month includes a home match against Mamelodi Sundowns, and treacherous trips to Free State Stars and Mpumalanga Black Aces.

A positive for Tinkler was the manner in which Pirates clawed their way back into last weekend's drawn Soweto derby, where midfielder Thabo Qalinge dazzled the sell-out crowd with a wonderful piece of skill when he controlled the ball with his head, allowed it to settle a moment on his back before rolling it on to the turf.

And now that Qalinge got to play his first derby, could he finally deliver on the promise he showed when Pirates recruited him from Black Aces two years ago?

"I was obviously excited... I always wanted to play in the derby," he told the Pirates website of Saturday's match. "I felt honoured to be able to represent my team. When the first eleven was announced, I knew that this was a great opportunity and I didn't want to overthink things and put pressure on myself."

The pressure will be on the entire Bucs side tonight, as they seek only their fifth win of what has been a wretched season.

Notorious tinkerer Tinkler will have to make another change to his line-up tonight, with Ayanda Gcaba suspended. He could restore Ntsikelelo Nyauza to the right-back slot and move Thabo Matlaba to left back, where Gcaba played against Chiefs. Ajax, meanwhile, will welcome captain Travis Graham back from suspension.

Tonight's Fixtures (all 7.30pm)

AmaTuks v FS Stars, Tuks Stadium; Pirates v Ajax, Orlando Stadium; Celtic v SuperSport, Free State Stadium; Wits v Platinum Stars, Bidvest Stadium; Polokwane City v Maritz- burg, Old Peter Mokaba Stadium