The two successive victories Orlando Pirates recorded have given coach Josef Zinnbauer hope that they can finish third on the Absa Premiership table.
Pirates, who are fourth with 49 points from 29 matches, will end their season with a match against tricky Stellenbosch at Ellis Park tomorrow (3.30pm).
For them to finish third they will need to win against Stellenbosch and hope SuperSport, with 50 points, lose points against Cape Town City.
Zinnbauer believes it will be a good season for them should they manage to finish third, which will earn them a place in the CAF Confederation Cup.
“We won two games in a row now, that’s important. We have the last game and it will be important we win that and get three points,” Zinnbauer said after their 1-0 victory against Maritzburg United at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Wednesday.
That result followed the weekend's 2-1 victory against SuperSport at Ellis Park. Before that they had gone five matches without a win.
“We have to get nine points and I think that the season will be OK for us. Maybe we have a chance for a third-place finish. When we have that chance, we have to take it and the target now is to win the last game.”
The German mentor will rely on striker Gabadinho Mhango who ended his goal drought after coming off the bench against Maritzburg to score the only goal late in the match.
The goal took his tally to 15 in the race for the Golden Boot award. He is tied with Highlands Park striker Peter Shalulile.
“We had the luck as a coach to make a change and Mhango came in and scored the only goal,” Zinnbauer said.
“This is what the coach and everyone wants to see. [Paseka] Mako came back from injury and he played well, always fighting for us. [Siphesihle] Ndlovu got man of the match. I think it’s 100% agreeable with this trophy that he got; he gave a top performance. He was top offensively and defensively. He organised things on the pitch ...
“We played well against Maritzburg and we had chances to score but we know that they are a good team. We had a good defending structure and I think the whole team was complete teamwork, togetherness and that’s the reason we won the game.”
Tomorrow's Fixtures (All at 3.30pm)
Sundowns v Leopards, Dobsonville; Chippa v Arrows, Orlando; AmaZulu v Highlands, Lucas Moripe; Baroka v Chiefs, Bidvest Stadium; Celtic v Maritzburg, Tuks Stadium; Wits v Polokwane, FNB Stadium; Pirates v Stellenbosch, Ellis Park; Cape Town City v SuperSport, Loftus
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