JOHANNESBURG - Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer said he is excited that his team advanced to the MTN8 Finals and is looking forward to going head to head with Bloemfontein Celtic.
The Soweto Giants successfully vanquished their biggest rivals 2-0 on the 2nd leg of the semi-finals on Sunday afternoon, giving them a 5-0 aggregate.
The Buccaneers have not seen the finals of the MTN8 in so many seasons and are just happy to be on the finals.
“I am happy now that we are in the finals. This final is for our supporters,” said a smiling Zinnbauer.
“It is a difficult time for the club and for the supporters as we cannot see each other during games but I hope to see them in the finals. Maybe it’s possible for supporters to come to the stadium.”
Even though they managed to easily beat the Glamour Boys on the first leg of the semi-finals, the Pirates coach said going to the 2nd leg was not easy as both sides were hungry for the victory.
Zinnbauer also stated that there were multiple chances of the Buccaneers to score more goals but the opportunities slipped.
“We had good results on the first leg and we had an advantage but you know with football it’s not easy. We know the quality from Kaizer Chiefs and we know what they wanted in the box.”
“We had the chances to score more goals but maybe we will score in the next game,” said the 50-year-old coach.
On what his plans are for the team, the German mentor said he wants the players to improve and do better in the rest of their games:
“We need a little break now where we can recover and focus on the next games but we have players that are part of the national team and I wish them luck and good results.”
“In these two weeks we will work on a better structure and things will have to improve, said Zinnbauer.
“We have a lot of games and we need all players in the squad to improve in terms of conditioning and tactical aspects but it’s not so easy.”
The Soweto Giants last tasted the MTN8 victory in 2011 and will be looking to reclaim the MTN8 Championship title when they lock horns with Bloemfontein Celtic at the finals sometime next month.
Xilombe Mathye