Orlando Pirates aim to rebound decisively in the second leg of the first preliminary round of the CAF Champions League after securing a draw in the initial match against a lesser-known team from Madagascar.
The first meeting between the two sides which was held in Mauritius ended in 0-0 stalemate, a result which came as a surprise as the Buccaneers were expected to walk in the park.
This upcoming fixture is vital for Jose Riveiro’s side to complete their advancement at home, especially following the unexpected and disappointing exit in the previous season.
Pirates were knocked out in the second preliminary round by Botswana side Jwaneng Galaxy in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 in aggregate score following two legs.
A failure to progress this time would echo what took place in the previous season.
Time & Where to watch
The match will be played on Friday, 23 August at Orlando Stadium with kickoff set for 7:30 pm. It will be broadcast live on SABC Sport.
Head to head
The first leg between these two sides marked their first ever meeting in history. Despite dominating possession, Ezimnyama Ngenkani weren’t clinical in front of goal.
The Soweto giants came to this match with tails high after opening the 2024/25 campaign with a comfortable 3-1 victory over SuperSport United in the MTN8 quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, they had also played a couple of friendly matches during their pre-season camp in Spain.
They drew 2-2 with Plymouth, won 2-0 against Sevilla, drew 1-1 against Granada and lost 3-2 at the hands of Al-Sadd.
What Riveiro said?
The Spanish coach acknowledged that obtaining sufficient information about their opponents has proven to be a difficult task.
Although the first leg ended in a draw, he remains confident that his team performed admirably in the away match.
“It's a challenge [to get information] but I think we did a good job, one more time,” the Spaniard told SABC Sport.
“Every department is really involved in this game and we know and we have enough information about the opponent to face the game and we know about the place where we are going to play, the facilities, the type of grass, all the obstacles that we will find this time to go through to the next round but lack of information is not an issue in this occasion,” Riveiro continued.
Interesting facts about Disciples
The club originated from the now-defunct CNaPS Sport, which secured seven league titles over the past decade. As reported by Soccer Laduma, fifty percent of the Disciples' roster consists of players from CNaPS.
Established four years ago, the club is not regarded as one of the major teams in a country where football has yet to reach its full professional potential.
Possible Line-up
Pirates XI: Sipho Chaine, Thabiso Monyane, Thabiso Sesane, Olisa Ndah, Deon Hotto, Makhaula, Thalente Mbatha, Relebohile Mofokeng, Patrick Maswanganyi, Monnapule Saleng, Tshegofatso Mabasa
Where to get tickets?
Tickets for Orlando Pirates v Disciples are R60 for all ages at TicketPro
