Orlando Pirates' solid defense this season has Mamelodi Sundowns striker Peter Shalulile a bit worried ahead of their MTN8 semi-final first leg at Orlando Stadium tomorrow at 3.30pm.

Shalulile has been finding the back of the net every time Sundowns and Pirates meet. In the five matches he played against the Buccaneers in the past season across all competition, the Namibian international has netted five times.

But with Pirates' defense looking to have improved this season with three goals conceded in eight league matches, Shalulile admits it is difficult to score against them, and that every chance they get they need to bury it.

“This is a good season and very competitive. All the teams are out there to win and to survive, especially Pirates, they have improved and they have great players, to be honest,” Shalulile said yesterday.

“And their defense is difficult to score against, but a champion knocks on the door until they score. It won’t be an easy game, but I believe in every match that we play we manage to create chances.

“What we have to do is convert the chances that we will create, in every match. Sundowns will always create chances and it’s up to us players to score those chances.”

The 28-year-old scoring machine added that their approach for this game won’t change against the Buccaneers, and they will go out there and try to get a win to have an advantage going into the second leg.

“We just have to go there as a team, do our best and make sure that we come out with a win, that's what we need to do,” he said.

“To be honest, it won’t be an easy game but the courage is still there and the belief is still there. We respect them and we will go out there and give our best.

“What we do at Sundowns is we don’t change things, we just make sure we prepare well and our mindset [is]  ready for what they will bring on us in the game.”