Staff Reporter.
Orlando Pirates will face a tough test of their mettle when they face hosts Simba SC in Dar es Salaam for a first-leg Caf Confederation Cup quarterfinal match on the evening of Sunday 17 April.
Kick-off at Tanzania’s Benjamin Mkapa National Stadium is set for 6pm CAT.
Pirates earned their place in the final eight of the second-tier continental competition by topping group B ahead of Libyan side Al Ittihad, JS Saoura of Algeria and Royal Leopards of Eswatini.
The Buccaneers suffered just one defeat – 3-2 away to Ittihad in Benghazi on matchday two – and ended the group stage as the top-scoring team overall with 15 goals.
This is in stark contrast to their domestic form, where they have managed just 28 goals from 25 matches in the DStv Premiership – underlined by a 0-0 draw away to struggling Baroka FC on Tuesday.
Nonetheless, Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi is hopeful that his players will keep up the club’s tradition of strong performances in African club football.
“The history of Pirates is that they have always done well in Caf competitions. When Roger De Sa was here, they played in the [2013 Champions League] final and Eric Tinkler also played in the [2015 Confederation Cup] final,” Ncikazi explained.
“They qualified [for the 2020-21 group stages] the last time under Josef Zinnbauer and they won the title in 1995. So there is no surprise.
“Pirates should be in the stages where they are in at the moment and we will try go further and possibly win it. Pirates have quality. You could see that we are a team that wants to dominate matches and use the ball well.”
Tanzanian giants Simba, meanwhile, were runners-up in a tightly-contested group D. They finished level on 10 points with group winners RS Berkane (the Moroccans took spot on head-to-head goal difference) but were just one point ahead of third-placed ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast.
Coach Pablo Franco believes Wekundu wa Msimbazi have what it takes to defeat Pirates across the two legs of the tie.”At this stage, there is no margin for mistakes and we need to continue with the same performance but also try to be a little bit more accurate, especially when finishing,” he explained.
“Probably, at this stage, we are not going to have as many chances as before, and in the first game, we need to get that good result if we want to have options.
“Of course, in the return game, we will need to improve our performance and we will need to be much more reliable and competitive because in this competition, it is not possible to go to the away field – facing such a good team – without being competitive enough and not having the right mentality.
“If we are capable of getting that both at home and away, I am sure we will have our chances.”
In head-to-head terms, this will be the first competitive meeting of Simba SC and Orlando Pirates.
Tunisian referee Haythem Guirat will take charge of the match in Dar es Salaam. The return leg is scheduled for Sunday 24 April at the Orlando Stadium.
The winners of this tie will face either Al Ittihad or Al Ahly Tripoli in the semifinals next month.