Pirates and Cape Town City are both in need of a bounce back

Orlando Pirates and Cape Town City will be looking to get back to winning ways when the teams meet in a DStv Premiership encounter at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

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Pirates were edged 2-0 by log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns in the return of the Premier Soccer League from the Fifa break on December 30. The Buccaneers didn’t seem to be at their best overall in that game, with the Brazilians dominating for most of the match.

The tie against Sundowns was totally different to how Pirates played the Pretoria team when they met in the second leg of the MTN8 semifinals, when Jose Riveiro’s men managed to put on a great performance in a 3-0 victory against a star studded Downs side last October.

Bucs’ loss now puts them 15 points behind Downs on the log, with the Soweto based side managing to collect only 19 points from 14 games.

Pirates skipper Innocent Maela says it was disappointing to lose the way they did to Sundowns, but he knows that they have to pull themselves together and get ready for their next match.

“It was a very difficult result to take in, especially how we started the match. We had the game in our hands, and for us to concede via a set-piece was disappointing. But we go back to the drawing board,” said Maela.

City stumped by SuperSport

Looking at Cape Town City, Eric Tinkler’s charges have already lost their first game of the year after they were beaten 1-0 by SuperSport United on Tuesday in the Mother City.

Tinkler is hoping to see his side bounce back with a win against Pirates, especially since his team is sitting in 11 the on the league table.

“You’re a professional sportsman, you’re going to have good days, and you’re going to have bad days. And the most important thing is how you bounce back and what better opportunity than against Orlando Pirates,” Tinkler told SuperSport TV.

This will be the first time the clubs meet this season – the last time they played each other, Vincent Pule and Deon Hotto scored for the Buccaneers in a 2-0 win.