Midfield workhorse Ben Motshwari, who’s on loan at AmaZulu from Orlando Pirates, believes Usuthu can match the Buccaneers when the two sides clash in a league match at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday (7.30pm).
Usuthu head into this encounter high in morale after beating Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the Carling Knockout last 16 tie at FNB Stadium over the weekend.
“We believe in ourselves and we believe that we can try and match them tomorrow night [tonight], especially given that we are also coming from a win that boosted our confidence,” Motshwari said yesterday.
Motshwari joined Usuthu on loan from Bucs last month after struggling for game time at the Soweto club. The lad from Randfontein, on the West Rand, concedes his lack of game time at Pirates bruised his confidence, saying playing his first 90 minutes in months against Amakhosi lifted his morale ahead of the Pirates game.
“Not playing for such a long time dents your confidence. The game against Chiefs was my first 90 minutes after so long and that was a great confidence booster for me going into the next match against Pirates,” Motshwari said.
The 32-year-old midfielder, who’d never played for a club outside Gauteng before joining Usuthu, didn’t hide that adapting to life in Durban wasn’t easy as he left his family in the City of Gold. “It’s been difficult, coming to a new city... leaving your family behind but I’ve been trying to adapt to the new life. The guys are helping me to adjust,” Motshwari noted.
Motshwari expects his parent club to be a very difficult opponent, especially given the team’s recent form. Even so, the former Bidvest Wits defensive midfielder insisted they know how Pirates play.
“Obviously it’s going to be a difficult one... they are having a good run and they’ve recently won a trophy [the MTN8 after beating Mamelodi Sundowns early this month], but we focus more on ourselves,” Motshwari said.
“We know how they play. They play quick, they love to rotate the ball quickly, playing into the spaces behind the opponent’s defence... that’s something we must try and manage.”
Fixtures
Tuesday: AmaZulu v Pirates, Moses Mabhida (7.30pm)
Thursday: SuperSport v Royal, TUT (7.30pm)
Friday: Pirates v Polokwane, Orlando (7.30pm)
Saturday: Arrows v Chiefs, Mpumalanga, 3.30pm; Chippa v AmaZulu, Nelson Mandela Bay (5.45pm)
Sunday: Sundowns v Swallows, Loftus Versfeld (3.30pm); Galaxy v Sekhukhune, Mbombela (3.30pm); Bay v CPT, King Zwelithini (3.30pm)
AmaZulu ready to go toe-to-toe with Pirates
Motshwari’s morale up after rare full game in win over Chiefs
Image: Gallo Images/Lefty Shivambu
Midfield workhorse Ben Motshwari, who’s on loan at AmaZulu from Orlando Pirates, believes Usuthu can match the Buccaneers when the two sides clash in a league match at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Tuesday (7.30pm).
Usuthu head into this encounter high in morale after beating Kaizer Chiefs 1-0 in the Carling Knockout last 16 tie at FNB Stadium over the weekend.
“We believe in ourselves and we believe that we can try and match them tomorrow night [tonight], especially given that we are also coming from a win that boosted our confidence,” Motshwari said yesterday.
Motshwari joined Usuthu on loan from Bucs last month after struggling for game time at the Soweto club. The lad from Randfontein, on the West Rand, concedes his lack of game time at Pirates bruised his confidence, saying playing his first 90 minutes in months against Amakhosi lifted his morale ahead of the Pirates game.
“Not playing for such a long time dents your confidence. The game against Chiefs was my first 90 minutes after so long and that was a great confidence booster for me going into the next match against Pirates,” Motshwari said.
The 32-year-old midfielder, who’d never played for a club outside Gauteng before joining Usuthu, didn’t hide that adapting to life in Durban wasn’t easy as he left his family in the City of Gold. “It’s been difficult, coming to a new city... leaving your family behind but I’ve been trying to adapt to the new life. The guys are helping me to adjust,” Motshwari noted.
Motshwari expects his parent club to be a very difficult opponent, especially given the team’s recent form. Even so, the former Bidvest Wits defensive midfielder insisted they know how Pirates play.
“Obviously it’s going to be a difficult one... they are having a good run and they’ve recently won a trophy [the MTN8 after beating Mamelodi Sundowns early this month], but we focus more on ourselves,” Motshwari said.
“We know how they play. They play quick, they love to rotate the ball quickly, playing into the spaces behind the opponent’s defence... that’s something we must try and manage.”
Fixtures
Tuesday: AmaZulu v Pirates, Moses Mabhida (7.30pm)
Thursday: SuperSport v Royal, TUT (7.30pm)
Friday: Pirates v Polokwane, Orlando (7.30pm)
Saturday: Arrows v Chiefs, Mpumalanga, 3.30pm; Chippa v AmaZulu, Nelson Mandela Bay (5.45pm)
Sunday: Sundowns v Swallows, Loftus Versfeld (3.30pm); Galaxy v Sekhukhune, Mbombela (3.30pm); Bay v CPT, King Zwelithini (3.30pm)
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