Pirates has no illusions about Chiefs rematch

Kaizer Chiefs are likely to be a different prospect on the rebound‚ said Orlando Pirates midfielder Thabo Rakhale ahead of Saturday’s Telkom Knockout semifinal rematch at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

An impressively keyed up‚ dominant Pirates overwhelmed Chiefs in the past Saturday’s Absa Premiership match-up at FNB. Rakhale expects Amakhosi‚ buoyed by a 3-1 midweek home league victory against Lamontville Golden Arrows‚ to come back strong in the derby‚ part II.

“It’s going to be a tough game considering we just won against them‚ and that they then came back against Arrows‚” Rakhale said in a press conference at the PSL offices in Parktown on Thursday.

“And even considering we also won in midweek. We all know you can’t judge by results going into a derby. We lost against Arrows before the first one and then beat Chiefs in the derby.”

Chiefs captain Siphiwe Tshabalala agreed his side will improve on Saturday.

“Saturday’s defeat left a bitter taste in the mouth. But for us it’s not about revenge. It’s about playing for the fans and going to the final. We want to show our quality as a team‚” the midfielder said.

“The arrows win was a great result for us‚ scoring three goals at home. It was a great comeback‚ following the setback of the result against Pirates.

“And we want to take that confidence and goals scored into the big one on Saturday. Given the magnitude of the derby we need to bring our ‘A’ game mentally and physically.”