With an opportunity to clinch their second trophy in a space of three months, Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says their focus remains firmly on their objective, to win the Carling Knockout against Marumo Gallants at the Peter Mokaba Stadium tomorrow (6pm).
Despite being cup kings of SA football, where they won the MTN8 again this season and the Nedbank Cup twice (2023 and 2024), the Carling Knockout has eluded Bucs in the past decade.
The last time they won this competition was in 2011, when it was still called the Telkom Knockout.
Ouaddou said they are more than ready to face Gallants, who handed them a defeat in their second game of the Betway Premiership, drawing confidence from their unbeaten run of eight matches across all competitions, a run that includes seven wins and one draw.
“We’re fully focused on this target to achieve this important moment for the club, an important moment for the players and of course, an important moment for us because it is a second final,” Ouaddou said.
We’re fully focused on this target to achieve this important moment for the club, an important moment for the players and of course, an important moment for us because it is a second final
— Abdeslam Ouaddou, Orlando Pirates coach
“My players are not 100%; they are 1,000% motivated. I can feel that since they came back from rest, everyone is focused and everyone is giving his best to be in the group because everyone wants to be part of this event.”
The Buccaneers will not only go into this fixture looking to avenge the 2-1 defeat they suffered in the league earlier this season but also to end their long wait to win this cup.
Ouaddou, who was coaching Gallants last season briefly, said he knows what to expect from his former side, acknowledging that it won’t be a walk in the park for his side, like it was in the league match.
“We’ve to put all our efforts into winning; we know that it won’t be easy. The team that we are playing against, I know 100% of it; I know what I have left there in that club,” he said.
“It is a team that is very well organised, with compact blocks and it is very difficult to find spaces against that team.
“But we will make sure to try to find solutions to break that block.”
Sowetan
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