Pirates gunning for maximum points against Maritzburg

Orlando Pirates will host relegation-threatened Maritzburg United in a DStv Premiership clash at the Orlando Stadium on Friday night.

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Pirates assistant coach Sergio Almenara says Bucs are ready for this tough encounter against the Team of Choice and is confident that they will claim maximum points in the match.

“It’s been a hard week in terms of a number of training sessions, but we are ready to perform well against Maritzburg and we will try to get three points,” said Almenara.

The Buccaneers assistant coach added that the season has reached a difficult stage where teams are looking to achieve their end of season objectives.

Maritzburg will be heading into this clash with the team aiming for three points in a quest to save their DStv Premiership status. The Team of Choice is currently occupying 15th place on the log having only managed to collect 21 points in 19 games.

The Sea Robbers are in fourth place on the log with 28 points having played 19 matches.

“We know that they are in a need (for three points), but this is football and at the end of the season there are teams that are fighting to get out of relegation, other teams are fighting for a title, for Caf positions and to survive in the league,” said Almenara.

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“I think it is going to be like that in the next three months. I know it is going to be tough to beat them, but we will try our best,” added the 42-year-old Spanish coach.

In their previous four meetings, Pirates won two, while Maritzburg registered one victory and the other game ended in a draw.

Their most recent meeting was last year in September, where Maritzburg defeated Pirates 1-0 courtesy of Amadou Soukouna’s penalty in the last 10 minutes of the clash.