Derby won’t pack crowd, but a punch

In ordinary times, nearly 100,000 people would pack into FNB Stadium, a sea of gold and black, and black and white, the colours of Amakhosi and the Buccaneers.

Now, however, coronavirus has killed football as a spectator sport, except on television, and so Pirates and Chiefs will play at Orlando Stadium, Pirates’ regular home ground, with no need for as much space as possible to pack in the paying public. It should be weirdly eerie for the coaching staff and players, more so than for fans watching on TV, who will at least get a sound effects overlay.

But there is plenty riding on this two-legged tie, with Chiefs head coach Gavin Hunt looking to make an impression … and Amakhosi without a trophy in five years. Hunt has been involved in coaching in SA football for 25 years, yet this will be his first Soweto derby.

Pirates, meanwhile, haven’t won anything in seven years and could do with a statement victory after an unconvincing start to the season. Even in silence, a Soweto derby always packs a punch.

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