CT CITY, PIRATES SET FOR EPIC BATTLE
Cape Town City and Orlando Pirates will battle for the last spot in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals when they meet at Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday, 14 March 2018, kick-off at 19h30.
City claimed their place in this phase of the competition with a 1-0 away win over Bidvest Wits on February 7, with new signing Matthew Rusike scoring his first goal for the club.
The Cape Town side have moved into the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup for the first time, with their only previous participation – in 2017 – ending in the first round when they suffered a shock 1-0 loss to lower league Acornbush United.
The Citizens come into the game having claimed a 1-0 away win over Costa do Sol in a CAF Confederation Cup midweek clash on March 7. The Cape side has recorded three wins and three losses from their last six matches across all competitions.
Pirates earned their spot in the last 16 with a 2-0 home win over Ajax Cape Town on February 10. Ghanaian forward Bernard Morrison revived his career at the club by scoring both of the goals in the victory over the Urban Warriors.
The Buccaneers are eight-time winners of the Nedbank Cup (1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2011, 2014) and last year they got as far as the final before suffering a 4-1 defeat at the hands of SuperSport United.
Pirates come into the game on the back of a morale-boosting 3-1 win over Soweto derby rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the league on March 3. The team in black and white have won their last four matches on the bounce.
The teams will be meeting in their first cup match, though they have crossed swords in three league games since City’s formation at the start of the 2016/17 season. In that campaign the sides drew both of their league encounters: 0-0 in Soweto and 2-2 in Cape Town.
Their most recent meeting was a league clash in Soweto in September last year which saw the Buccaneers claim a 1-0 win, thanks to a late strike from attacking midfielder Thabo Qalinge.
Previous starting line-ups
Pirates’ line-up from their 3-1 win over Chiefs on March 3: Mpontshane, Jele, Dube, Nyauza, Lorch (Makola 72’), Shitolo, Mlambo, Nyatama, Maela, Morrison (Memela 46’), Shonga (Mulenga 84’).
City’s line-up from their 1-0 win over Costa do Sol on March 7: Stephens, Kobola, Mngonyama, Johannes, Seedat (Edmilson 9’), Roberts (Nodada 74’), Kewuti, Masina, Martin, Patosi, Akosah-Bempah (Gumede 87’).
Head-to-Head (since 2016/17)
PREVIOUS CUP MEETINGS
N/A – This will be the first cup meeting of Cape Town City and Orlando Pirates.
ALL LEAGUE RESULTS
Season Result Scorers
2016/17 Pirates 0-0 CTC
2016/17 CTC 2-2 Pirates Putsche, Manyama; Wome, Norodien
2017/18 Pirates 1-0 CTC Qalinge
CUP RECORD
N/A – This will be the first cup meeting of Cape Town City and Orlando Pirates.
OVERALL RECORD (all competitions)
P W D L GF GA
City 3 0 2 1 2 3
Pirates 3 1 2 0 3 2
What the teams are saying
Cape Town City winger Lyle Lakay:
“It’s important to continue with the momentum we now have,” said Lakay.
“We’ve managed to score more than one goal in a game and we haven’t conceded you know. So we’re still on track to achieve our objectives.
“Our previous losses weren’t always a fair reflection as we’ve had plenty of chances in those games but cannot score. These are things our coach constantly reminds us about and we are aware of it.”
Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic:
“We won the game against a very good Kaizer Chiefs, it is good for South African football it’s good for us that we got the three points and we are happy, but we have to look critically in what went wrong today and look forward to the games in front of us,” said Bucs’ Serbian coach in the wake of the win over Chiefs.
Cape Town City key players
Matthew Rusike – Rusike’s first goal for City saw them defeat Bidvest Wits in the first round of the Nedbank Cup a month ago, but he was injured in a league game against the same opponents in late February. However, there is hope that the striker will be fit to face Pirates.
Ayanda Patosi – The playmaker has returned to his best form in recent weeks and was highly influential in their wins over Costa do Sol and Chippa United in early March. He’ll look to inspire the Citizens to a place in the competition’s last eight.
Orlando Pirates key players
Luvoyo Memela – Two goals in the Soweto derby has turned Memela into a cult hero the Buccaneers, but he has yet to prove that he can perform strongly on a consistent basis. This cup clash gives him the chance to back up his showing against the Amakhosi.
Musa Nyatama – The midfield maestro will have a tough battle against the likes of Roland Putsche and Teko Modise, but his recent form suggests he can dictate play and lead the Soweto giants into the quarterfinals.
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