AmaZulu star midfielder Ben Motshwari issued a strong warning to Orlando Pirates ahead of the Nedbank Cup tie, saying they are not Golden Arrows. The former Pirates midfielder, Motshwari says the Buccaneers will have to sweat to reach the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup. Pirates are fresh from a 7-1 win over Arrows in the DStv Premiership and the midfielder warns his former side.
Pirates are on the road to Moses Mabhida Stadium this coming Saturday in a quarter-final clash that promises to be a thriller.
Nedbank Cup: Motshwari Sends Warning to His Former Side
The Randfontein-born midfielder says their strategy will not allow Pirates to run riot as they did last weekend against Steve Komphela’s Arrows in Soweto.
On top of the warning shots fired by Motshwari, Jose Riveiro will face his countryman, Pablo Franco Martin in a battle of Spanish mentors. At the same time, the Ke Yona encounter comes after a dull goalless draw between AmaZulu and Pirates in the opening round of the league.
“It also goes with the approach, we are not Golden Arrows,” said Motshwari during the pre-match press conference. “I think they had a different game plan, approaching that match. I don’t know what they were doing as they were hammered 7-1. But for us, it’s gonna be a different ball game altogether. For us we are cautious, hopefully, they finished those goals against Arrows.
“Coming here is not gonna be easy for them. So we gonna give them a tough time. I think we do have quality, players that can play football and who can go pound-to-pound with them.
“Yes, they’re a big team, we respect them but this is football, anything can happen.”
Nedbank Cup: AmaZulu to Bag Maiden Trophy in 32 Years
Heading to this crucial cup contest at Moses Mabhida Stadium at 6:00, the hosts Usuthu were victorious last weekend as they beat Cape Town City 1-0 away in the Mother City.
Motshwari insisted AmaZulu aren’t shaken when they look at the Soweto giants’ performance against Abafana Bes’thende in their previous outing, saying Usuthu won’t make it easy for Pirates. Looking at the two sides when it comes to cup collections, Pirates are out to defend their Nedbank title while their hosts want to erase the 32-year trophy drought.
The KwaZulu-Natal outfit last lifted a trophy in 1992 when they clinched the Coca-Cola Cup – will they stun Pirates? Moreover, the former Bidvest Wits star anchorman added that they won’t focus on hat-trick hero Tshegofatso Mabasa alone, but will not allow the Soweto giants to breathe.
“We don’t try to dwell too much on individuals because we tend to lose ourselves as a team collectively. I think we have decent centre-backs that can deal with him,” added Motshwari.
“We are not going to allow or give him that space that he wants, but for us, he is the threat. But we don’t want to dwell too much on that and we just want to focus on ourselves because we have been struggling to score goals. So, this is what we have been working on in terms of training and going forward for ourselves.”
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