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Pirates out for derby revenge against Chiefs

Smiso Msomi|Published

Tapelo Xoki has made it no secret that the Pirates players have not forgotten their defeat to Chiefs two weeks ago. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix

Durban — According to Orlando Pirates defender Tapelo Xoki, he and his teammates are keen to avenge their Soweto derby defeat to Kaizer Chiefs two weeks ago.

The Buccaneers, who are on a high following their MTN8 Cup final win last weekend, will face Chiefs in the second semi-final of the Carling Black Label Cup on Saturday.

Before their glorious night in Durban last week, the Sea Robbers suffered defeat to their Soweto rivals the week before and Xoki has made it no secret that the Pirates change-room has not forgotten that defeat.

"It's a huge game as everyone knows, the supporters have voted and we thank them that they haven't played anyone out of position," Xoki said.

"We're looking forward to the game, the preparations are going well so we're fully focused on that and we'll try to avenge the loss we had two weeks ago."

A lot was made about the playing styles of the two teams on the day at FNB Stadium, as Pirates kept their possession-based approach while Chiefs looked deadly on the counter.

However, Xoki has revealed that the Pirates camp has identified some of the mistakes they made the last time the two teams played each other.

"We watched the game again and saw where we went wrong in the game. So we just tried to fix the areas we know went wrong and try to play our normal game as much as we can because what was important for us was understanding where we went wrong, and now we do and we'll go again," Xoki said

Although Pirates may be in high spirits following their Cup success, their recent record against Chiefs still plays on their minds ahead of Saturday’s (tomorrow’s) encounter.

Yusuf Maart's wonder goal meant that Chiefs won their fourth successive Soweto derby against Pirates, the first time either of the teams has won four in a row in the PSL era.

It is a frequent occurrence in domestic football that a team that wins a Cup fails to win their next fixture. However, Xoki dismissed any concerns from Pirates supporters that the players might suffer a Cup hangover.

"Once you start training then everything is finished, and the celebrations are done. We had our chance to celebrate at the weekend and we did so, now the focus goes into this week.

“We can't be thinking about last weekend because we have a chance to do what we did last weekend, and we would love to do it again," Xoki said.

@ScribeSmiso

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