By KOPANO MONAHENG
The time we have all been waiting for is here. It’s the weekend of the MTN 8, WAFA WAFA. Sekhukhune United host Soweto giants Orlando Pirates at the old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane this afternoon, with kick-off at 3pm.
Pirates are gunning for their fifth consecutive MTN 8 title, but to achieve this, they have to get past Sekhukhune United over two legs in the semifinals and then do well again in the final, where they could face either Mamelodi Sundowns or Golden Arrows.
Pirates have been doing extremely well in cup competitions and will surely not want this cup to miss them. On the other hand, Sekhukhune are hungry for cup glory, and Pirates will have to dig deep if they are to run away with victory this Saturday and also do well in the second leg of the competition.
The two teams will face each other in three consecutive matches — one today, another on Tuesday in a league match, and the last game next Saturday for the second leg of the MTN 8. Pirates did not beat or score against Sekhukhune United in either of their league matches last season, and they are well aware of the task they are up against when they meet this afternoon.
Sekhukhune coach Cedric Kaze said:
“It’s very important as well to manage the three games. Starting on Saturday (today), the first leg, we are playing against the defending champions. Not once, not twice, but four times in a row. Which means that we know how big it is, the mountain we need to climb,” he said.
“But we are preparing ourselves. We want to compete. We need to be at our best. We need to show our intentions, we need to have our minds and our plan clear, and that’s what will take us through the first game. Then we can prepare for the second game.”
When asked to choose at least one game he wanted to focus on winning, he said it’s like asking a father to choose who he loves the most between his daughter and son. Kaze said he wants to do well in all their three matches against the champions.
“But it’s a realistic question as well, because sometimes you have hurdles coming from your side, which means that sometimes the depth of the squad doesn’t allow you to compete in both competitions. It’s a fair question, but we want to do as much as we can to give ourselves a chance in both competitions,” he concluded.
