Bucs top men need a break ORLANDO Pirates coach Roger de Sa will give his key players at least two days off this week ahead of Saturdays first leg of the Caf Champions League final against Al Ahly at Orlando Stadium. Saturdays 1-1 Soweto derby draw against Kaizer Chiefs was the Bucs 16th game since the start of the Absa Premiership season. Yet it was just the third league match for the Buccaneers. First there will probably be a few guys who will get more than one day off, De Sa said of Bucs preparation for the week ahead. A lot of guys have put in a lot of hard work, a lot of travelling. And you could see it [against Chiefs] - Oupa Manyisa, Andile Jali, it was starting to show. Bucs, who thrashed Lamontville Golden Arrows 4-0 midweek in the Telkom Knockout, looked like they were getting off to a flier again as Kermit Erasmus opened the scoring with a cracking volley in the 10th minute. But Chiefs composed themselves and equalised through Kingston Nkhathas 40th-minute goal, though the striker appeared to be offside. De Sa said he thought a draw against Chiefs was a fair result. Chiefs begin their own Champions League campaign in February. Amakhosi made just the one notable signing in the off-season in Knowledge Musona, and the PSL and Nedbank Cup champions lack of depth has been exposed in some unconvincing performances. Coach Stuart Baxter said the club knew where to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window. We discuss players and the needs of the team every day, he said. We monitor players in all positions. If youd asked me a week ago I would have said I was happy with Knowledge, and now he has a broken shoulder - so we might find ourselves having to strengthen there. In the squad now you havent got a lot of players sitting outside, knocking on your door. And I think Pirates have done that well - they can rotate and some players are more senior than others. Baxter said Pirates march to the Caf final had set a precedent for other South African clubs.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 08:18:03 +0000
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