Johannesburg — ORLANDO Pirates captain Lehlohonolo Seema flashed a wide smile when the draw for the semifinals of the Telkom Knockout was confirmed yesterday.

Pirates were drawn against Seema's former club, Bloemfontein Celtic, and the Bucs captain said he had unfinished business with his erstwhile side after quitting the Free Staters in June 2006.

"It is going to be a special game for the whole team, but for me personally it would be nice to put one over my former club," Seema said.

"We are aiming to reach the final and then hopefully win the trophy."

The Bucs are now just two games away from ending a cup drought that is in its eighth year.

But Pirates supporters had to endure anxious moments in the quarterfinals when they needed a 3-2 win at a wet Olympia Park to get past Moroka Swallows at the weekend.

Goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs made a howler just before full time when he fumbled substitute Elton Morelato's tame shot and allowed the ball to roll under his body and into the net to make the score 3-2. Pirates had been leading 3-1 at that point and suddenly had to defend furiously to prevent Swallows from taking the game to extra time.

Celtic also did not make life easy for themselves as they needed a nail-biting 4-3 win on penalties against SuperSport United to advance to the semifinals at the weekend.

But Celtic captain John Maduka said they could not be too fussy about how they won the match after failing to win a single encounter in the league.

Celtic are the only team that has still not won a game in the domestic premiership since the start of the campaign in August, and Maduka said the basement side had to be grateful for the distraction of the cup competition.

"After managing to finally win a game at the weekend, we have to be motivated," Maduka said.

"Facing Pirates is going to be tricky but we will be ready for them."

Maduka said he could not explain how Celtic had managed to sustain their stay in the Telkom Knockout while struggling to make an impression in the league.

"It is strange because it is not as if we are focusing more on cup games than on the league. It is just one of those strange things about football."

Celtic coach Mich D'Avray will also welcome the distraction of the cup competition as the Bloemfontein side has looked out of sorts since he took over in the beginning of the campaign. In the second semifinal match, Ajax Cape Town were drawn against Free State Stars.

The Premier Soccer League confirmed after the draw that the potential thriller between Pirates and Celtic would be played at Chatsworth Stadium in Durban on November 29, while Ajax and Stars would square off at East London's Absa Stadium on November 30.

None of the teams was seeded during the draw and the PSL reserved the right to decide home-ground advantage.