Polokwane City coach Phuti Mohafe has dismissed the notion that playing Orlando Pirates on a compact pitch of the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium may give them an edge as the Buccaneers tend to struggle to play their normal game on smaller fields.
Polokwane host Pirates at this venue in the league tomorrow (3pm).
Last month, Pirates coach Jose Riveiro - who is leaving the club at the end of this season - lamented "it was tough to play here" after a 2-all draw against SuperSport United at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, where they went on to win 5-4 on penalties.
"I don't think playing Pirates at the Old Peter Mokaba is an advantage for us because they've been playing on pitches like this all over the country and they are used to such pitches,'' Mohafe said.
Pirates have beaten Polokwane nine times in their previous 17 league meetings, where seven ended in a stalemate and one in Rise and Shine's favour. Mohafe feels Pirates know that Polokwane weren't pushovers, albeit admitting they always get the better of them.
"Pirates are a confident in terms of their play. They always beat us but they know it's not easy to play against Polokwane City,'' the Polokwane coach said.
Mohafe sees no advantage in playing Bucs on compact pitch
Image: Philip Maeta
Polokwane City coach Phuti Mohafe has dismissed the notion that playing Orlando Pirates on a compact pitch of the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium may give them an edge as the Buccaneers tend to struggle to play their normal game on smaller fields.
Polokwane host Pirates at this venue in the league tomorrow (3pm).
Last month, Pirates coach Jose Riveiro - who is leaving the club at the end of this season - lamented "it was tough to play here" after a 2-all draw against SuperSport United at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium, where they went on to win 5-4 on penalties.
"I don't think playing Pirates at the Old Peter Mokaba is an advantage for us because they've been playing on pitches like this all over the country and they are used to such pitches,'' Mohafe said.
Pirates have beaten Polokwane nine times in their previous 17 league meetings, where seven ended in a stalemate and one in Rise and Shine's favour. Mohafe feels Pirates know that Polokwane weren't pushovers, albeit admitting they always get the better of them.
"Pirates are a confident in terms of their play. They always beat us but they know it's not easy to play against Polokwane City,'' the Polokwane coach said.
Mohafe stressed the importance of winning their home matches to cement their top-eight spot, aiming to win all their remaining fixtures to be played in their backyard.
"It's very important for us to win home games to remain in the top eight. We are left with four games at home [in fact it's three – against Pirates, SuperSport United and AmaZulu, with Royal AM now likely to be expelled from the league] and if we can win all of them, that would put us to 46 points and that would mean we're in the top eight,'' Mohafe said.
"I think we haven't lost more than three games at home [they've won six of their 11 home league games with three draws and two defeats], so we always make sure we don't lose at home."
Last Sunday, Rise and Shine thumped Richards Bay 3-1 at home to end their eight-game winless streak across all competitions.
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