Orlando Pirates star attacker Patrick Maswanganyi says they cannot change what has happened in the past matches, but they can change the complexion of that when they face Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
Pirates, unlike Sundowns, come to this mightily anticipated MTN8 final in Durban with a bit of pressure as they have failed to win in the last four matches in all competitions.
To make matters worse, the Buccaneers have scored one goal in those matches, making their job very tough because Sundowns also don’t give away goals under the astute and meticulous planning coach Rulani Mokwena.
“Everything was going very well and in the past, I think four games we haven’t won and that is the pressure for the team and also from everyone in the team,” said Maswanganyi.
Pirates’ four losses came to Botswana side Jwaneng Galaxy in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second preliminary round, and that was followed up with a loss to Sundowns in the league, although they were much better in the second half of that match at Orlando Stadium.
They lost 1-0 to Stellenbosch in the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final but still went through on away goal rules.
Then the embarrassment followed this past weekend as they lost 5-4 on penalty shootouts to Galaxy in the second leg of the second round of the Champions League after the game ended 1-1 on aggregate as they scored at home.
“I think we have a great opportunity to bounce back coming to this MTN8 final,” added Maswanganyi, who set up the two goals when they beat Stellies 2-1 in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-finals.
“So we want to do well, we want to start very well. I think we have to forget about what happened in the past because we can’t control the past but we have an opportunity to make history.
“We want to defend the cup – we want to win the cup as well.”
However, when Pirates won this cup last season, they cruised past Sundowns 3-0 in the second leg semi-final, leading to the appointment of coach Mokwena and Pirates going all the way to beat AmaZulu in Durban.
Whether this will be a morale booster to Pirates against the all-conquering Sundowns who have lost only once under Mokwena since he took over in October last year, remains to be seen.
Also, Sundowns beat Pirates 15 years ago the last time these two sides met in this competition was when it was known as the SAA Supa 8 in the 2007/08 season at Kings Park Stadium, the venue across Moses Mabhida Stadium.