Polokwane City coach Phuti Mohafe has denied claims the old Peter Mokaba Stadium will give his team the edge over Orlando Pirates.
The two teams meet on Saturday in the Premier Soccer League outing from 15.00 hours. While Rise and Shine are chasing a Caf competition slot, the Sea Robbers believe they can outsmart Mamelodi Sundowns and win the league. Masandawana are currently on 58 points, 15 more than the Soweto giants, who have a match at hand.
Riveiro argues the compactness of the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium pitch doesn't work for him, but Mohafe has dismissed the notion that it works for his team.
“I don't think playing Pirates at the Old Peter Mokaba is an advantage for us because they've been playing on pitches like this all over the country, and they are used to such pitches,” he said ahead of the match.
We have to win home games to remain in the top eight
Rise and Shine have beaten Bucs just once in the last 17 league outings, losing nine times and drawing on seven occasions, ” “Pirates are confident in terms of their play. They always beat us, but they know it's not easy to play against Polokwane City,” Mohafe continued.
“It's very important for us to win home games to remain in the top eight. We are left with four games at home [in fact it's three – against Pirates, SuperSport United and AmaZulu, with Royal AM now likely to be expelled from the league] and if we can win all of them, that would put us to 46 points and that would mean we're in the top eight.
“I think we haven't lost more than three games at home [they've won six of their 11 home league games with three draws and two defeats], so we always make sure we don't lose at home,” Mohafe concluded
