Orlando Pirates have left themselves with little room for error in the second leg of their CAF Champions League preliminary-round tie against La Cure Waves. The Buccaneers were held to a frustrating goalless draw by the Mauritanian champions away from home last weekend. They must now finish the job on home soil to keep their continental campaign alive.
Although the Bucs remain favourites to progress, the 0-0 result in Mauritius means La Cure Waves still have everything to play for. Kick off is 15:00 at the Orlando Amstel Arena.
Here are the permutations heading into the decisive second leg:
A WIN SENDS PIRATES THROUGH
The equation is simplest for the Buccaneers: any win will secure their place in the next preliminary round. Whether it is 1-0 or a more convincing result, a win would eliminate La Cure Waves and keep Pirates on course for a place in the group stages.
A SCORING DRAW ELIMINATES PIRATES
Pirates cannot afford to concede and allow the match to finish level. A 1-1, 2-2 or any other scoring draw would see La Cure Waves progress on the away-goals rule.
That makes scoring first important, but keeping a clean sheet could prove just as crucial for the Soweto giants.
ANOTHER GOALLESS DRAW MEANS PENALTIES
If the teams remain locked at 0-0 after 90 minutes, the tie will be decided through a penalty shootout.
Pirates will therefore want to avoid leaving their fate to the lottery of spot-kicks against a team that has already frustrated them once.
La Cure Waves are Mauritian, not Mauritanian—they are from Mauritius. CAF also describes them as Mauritian debutants.
EUGENE ZWANE WEIGHS IN ON PIRATES’ CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HOPES
In an exclusive interview with FARPost, former Bucs midfielder Eugene Zwane admitted that assessing Pirates’ performance is difficult without having watched the match. However, he highlighted several underlying factors that often hamper South African teams playing away in continental football.
“You know, the difficult thing is that we were not able to watch the game, so we are not sure what exactly transpired there,” Zwane told FARPost. “However, for Pirates not to get a positive result in the first leg could be due to a number of factors such as fatigue, travelling arrangements, and playing conditions. One would have expected Pirates to cruise past a team from Mauritius in the continental competition.”
Zwane pointed out that the element of surprise often works in favour of lesser-known African clubs, who have access to South African Premier Soccer League [PSL] footage while keeping their own tactical setups hidden.
“Then again, these teams prepare very well for teams such as Pirates,” he explained. “Obviously, they know Pirates because their games are exposed for everyone to watch on television. On the other hand, Pirates don’t know this Mauritanian team because it’s a closed book. So, it becomes hard to plan tactically against such teams.”
Despite the setback, Zwane remains confident that the Abdeslam Ouaddou-led side have the quality and home advantage required to turn the tie around and secure qualification for the next round. However, he cautioned that the technical team must prepare thoroughly for a demanding return fixture.
“It’s very difficult to pinpoint the reasons why Pirates were unable to score. However, I believe that given the club’s ambitions and the fact that they are playing at home, they will have to pull out all the stops to win this match,” Zwane stated.
“We will see how they perform in the second leg, but at this point in time, it is a little tricky for Pirates regarding how things will unfold.”
The Sea Robbers will be determined to make home advantage count as they look to secure their progression to second preliminary round of the competition.
RELATED STORY: Pirates legend Eugene Zwane flags major area of concern at the Buccaneers
