Pirates looking to do league and cup double over ‘physical’ Chippa

Orlando Pirates host Chippa United at Orlando Stadium in what is expected to be a thrilling DStv Premiership match on Wednesday night.

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Kick off is 7.30pm.

The sides will be meeting for the second time in less than a week after the Buccaneers got the better of the Chilli Boys in a Nedbank Cup semifinal clash last Saturday.

A brace by Kabelo Dlamini and a goal by Tapelo Xoki were enough to earn Pirates a victory and a spot in the final of the competition, which will be played on 1 June at the Mbombela Stadium. Elmo Kambindu scored the consolation goal for Chippa who finished the game with 10 men after Eva Nga was shown a red card for a second bookable offence.

As a result, Nga will miss the clash in Orlando as he will be serving his suspension. Also missing the game for the Chilli Boys is Craig Martin who received his fourth yellow card of the season in last weekend’s game.

Pirates assistant coach Mandla Ncikazi is expecting a challenging game against Chippa on Wednesday.

“It’s going to be a challenging match. [Chippa United] are a very physical side and are very strong on set plays. It’s going to be a different approach because it’s a different competition, but as a team, we’re looking for a similar outcome, which is three points,” Ncikazi told Pirates media.

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“We just need to be aware and not give away set pieces like we did in the previous match where they had 11 long throw-ins, four side free kicks and seven corner kicks. We cannot test our opponents that much, although we did well to defend such set plays. But like I said, it’s a different competition, different mindset, different approach against the same opponents. But we want the same outcome, which is three points.”

Pirates are currently third on the log with 46 points after 26 games, while Chippa are in 10^th position with 32 points having played the same number of games as the Buccaneers.