Kickoff (Cape Town)
28 November 2008
Orlando Pirates' excellent vein of form must make them firm favourites to triumph over Bloemfontein Celtic in Saturday's Telkom Cup semifinal in Durban.
Despite a midweek 0-0 stalemate against Mamelodi Sundowns, Bucs seem to be finding their form just as the season enters its business stage.
The Sea Robbers have worked their way up the league table into seventh position, just three points adrift of top-placed Golden Arrows.
And their convincing 2-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs, coupled with a hard-earned 4-2 win over Thanda Royal Zulu, shows that the Buccaneers are a team firing on all cylinders.
It's hard to find words to describe midfielder Teko Modise's form of late, and Celtic simply have to find a way to stop the Bucs phenomenon if they are to harbour any ambitions of reaching the final.
Innocent Mdledle and Thulasizwe Mbuyane are both out injured, however, Pirates' potential replacements - players like Bennett Chenene, Thembile Kanono and Joseph Makhanya - are all potential game winners in their own right.
Good news for Pirates is that Dikgang Mabalane has recovered in time for the game.
"I'm with the team now and I'm ready to play," Mabalane told KickOff.com after stepping off the bus in Durban.
"Our mentality must be that we will be appearing in the final. We cannot, however, afford to take Celtic lightly as cup games are always a different ball game compared to league matches.
"Tomorrow's winner will be the team that wants it more," he adds.
Celtic, one of two Free State sides in the last four, only squeezed through to the semi-final stage after beating SuperSport United on penalties.
Their league form has been dismal - Phunya Sele Sele currently find themselves in joint last position on the PSL table, but at least their last three results - a 1-0 win over Santos, a 1-1 draw with top-of-the-table Golden Arrows, and a 0-0 draw with Premiership champs SuperSport United - will have lifted spirits slightly.
Team manager Kumbulani Konko told KickOff.com that the team is high on confidence ahead of the game.
"Our last three results have seen us building momentum and the players are in an upbeat mood ahead of the game. We only have Solomon Mathe out, while Petrus Mahlatsi is available again."
And of course Celtic can always rely on their loyal fan-base for a bit of extra support - the sea of green and white at the Chatsworth Stadium on Saturday evening should at least match the Pirates fans, who no doubt will also be out in their numbers.
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