Pirates aim to build on recent form against the Chilli Boys

Orlando Pirates will travel to Gqeberha aiming to build on their recent winning momentum as they take on Chippa United in the Betway Premiership at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Sunday (3pm kickoff).

This fixture has historically been dominated by the Sea Robbers, who won all three meetings last season, including a 3-1 victory over the Chilli Boys in the Nedbank Cup semi-final hosted at the same venue.

Both teams enter this clash in contrasting form. Chippa have again been unsettled by coaching changes, with Sinethemba Badela, who began the season as head coach, lasting only two matches before parting ways with the club with Morgan Mammila taking charge of the side in their latest loss (1-0) against Richards Bay FC on Tuesday.

Pirates, on the other hand, have found some rhythm in their last two matches, and while both victories were narrow 1-0 wins, the team heads into this fixture full of confidence, boosted further by their MTN8 semifinal triumph over Mamelodi Sundowns this past weekend.

Moroccan coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has been under pressure, and although recent results have eased it slightly, he is well aware that expectations remain high.

The 46-year-old took charge of a predominantly young squad at the beginning of the season, with injuries to key players so far forcing him to throw less experienced youngsters into the deep end.

One standout has been young central defender Lebone Seema, who, alongside his younger captain Mbekezeli Mbokazi, has formed a solid partnership at the heart of the Buccaneers’ defence in the absence of regular skipper Nkosinathi Sibisi.

Ouaddou has been pleased with the Seema’s maturity so far in the limited matches he has played for the Bucaneers.

“He is doing well with his teammate in defence,” the former Fulham defender said.

“I think for his age he has shown a lot of maturity and we can see that he is improving with every game but also in saying that, I told him that the most difficult moment will only start now.”

Seema, a former TS Galaxy defender, scored what could already be an early contender for the goal of the season earlier this week, guiding his side to a crucial 1-0 win over newcomers Orbit College.

Ouaddou added that while the young defender’s early displays have been impressive, they also come with heightened expectations, and he has been in regular discussion with him.

“When you give people the habit of having such performances, the most difficult thing will be keeping them up. I played in that position for 17 years and the most difficult thing in that position is to stay focused for 90 minutes or maybe even more.

“The difference between a striker and a defender, the striker can have 89 minutes without you seeing him on the pitch but he scores in the 90th minute, and he has played his game. With the central defender, conceding a goal in just a minute, your game is over.

“My advise to him is to keep working hard and believing in himself, and to remain focused. Also he must keep learning from the likes of Sibisi and Tapelo (Xoki),and take advise from the senior players to keep improving to be one of the best.”