Orlando Pirates know it’s not easy to play Polokwane City – Mohafe

Photo Credit - Polokwane City Football Club.

Polokwane City coach Phuti Mohafe has put focus on grabbing maximum points from Orlando Pirates when the two sides face off in a Betway Premiership fixture at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday.

The Soweto giants will renew rivalries against Rise and Shine as they switch focus back to the domestic league after a gruelling outing in continental cup competition. The hard-fought 1-0 CAF Champions League quarter-final win against MC Alger on Tuesday was a welcome result to kick off a new month for Pirates.

Pirates will face a Polokwane side, who are on a high of their own after a much-needed 3-1 win at home to Richards Bay over the weekend. The result helped them cling on to sixth place in the standings, also ending a seven-match winless streak that included defeats in their two previous home outings.

"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,” said Mohafe as quoted by Sowetan. "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.

“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.”

On playing at Modiba Stadium, Mohafe explained: “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.”

As of now 15 points separate the top two, reduced by three from the previous game week thanks to the Buccaneers’ impressive 2-1 win at home in last month’s top-of-the-table clash.