Meshack Motloung

Meshack Motloung

Moroka Swallows players have declared war on Orlando Pirates whom they meet in the Telkom Knockout quarterfinals at Olympia Park Stadium on Saturday at 8pm.

The players are smarting from the 1-0 defeat by the Buccaneers in a league game recently. They claimed that the win was a fluke and promised to prove it in this Cup encounter.

The Birds' holding midfielder, Morgan Shivambu, said: "We know their strengths and weaknesses, this time we're going to bury them. We've got to give them little room to breath."

Striker Ryan Botha, who has formed a deadly combination with Brazilian Elton Morelato, said they were going to attack from the start.

"Morelato is a big boy and we understand each other, he's also our marksman. We need to beat them because we're out for revenge," he said.

Defender Vincent Kobola, who missed the first match through injury, said: "Now that I'm back, I am optimistic that we're going to give them some hard times. They have dented our image and they have to pay for it. Their defence is slow so we're going to capitalise on that."

Fellow defender Edward Malinga said: "They beat us by mistake, now we've rectified all the loopholes. They caught us off guard but we're going to be cautious."

The ever-confident James Mayinga added: "Everybody knows that when it rains the Birds can't fly, that is why they beat us. This time I'm praying that it should not rain because we would like to teach them a thing or two."