The Sunday Mail
Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt says he has previously not allowed Orlando Pirates to claim supremacy over teams he has coached and is “disappointed” by their traditional foes’ dominance this season.
The 100th Soweto derby clash will be played today, at FNB Stadium, as Chiefs eye turning the tables against Pirates who have beaten them thrice this season.
In their first confrontation this term, Pirates beat Chiefs 3-0 in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals last October, before the Buccaneers completed a 5-0 aggregate victory after winning the second leg 2-0.
Josef Zinnbauer’s Pirates were back again to haunt Amakhosi in a PSL match in January after claiming a 2-1 win at home.
For gritty midfielder Willard Katsande, the derby provides Cheifs with a chance to atone for largely poor season.
“Obviously you know there is a lot to play for in the derby we need to defend our bragging rights we cannot lose to Orlando Pirates for the fourth time in one season and at the same time it is a special derby.
“The 100th league derby is something which is good, something which going to go down in history so we need to sum it up with a good performance and a good result.
“We also need to climb up the ladder so we just need to go all out and try to make our Amakhosi family happy as you know that we haven’t had a good season so far hence we need to end the season on a high. We are going full out and guns blazing,’’ said Katsande.
“We are all disappointed. Internally as the football club, the players, the staff, everyone is disappointed.”
However, for Hunt, it goes deeper than that.
“We obviously want to do better,” said Hunt.
“We’ve got to be realistic about these things.
“Nobody is more disappointed than me. I don’t think we have lost to Pirates three times (in a row) in my life, so it’s disappointing but we’ve got to look forward and work on these mistakes and just do better,” he said.
Hunt had previously faced Pirates while coaching Hellenic, Black Leopards, Swallows FC, SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits.
But this season he felt the weight of coming up against the Buccaneers in the Soweto derby.
The Chiefs coach feels that Pirates have an edge over them, due to the fact that they have “invested heavily” into their squad, while Amakhosi have been under a Fifa transfer ban.
“They (Pirates) have invested heavily into the squad and it has made them stronger that is for sure,” Hunt said.
“They have got a lot of options in their team and if you look across their squad, it is a very good squad of players and they have done well.
“It will be a tough game for us, and we understand that, but we have to just face up.” — Goal.com/Sports Reporter.
