Soweto Derby piles pressure on wounded Chiefs, Pirates

Orlando Pirates take on rivals Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday in yet another edition of the storied Soweto Derby. The clash is generally regarded as one of the biggest soccer rivalries on the continent, with supporters from both clubs filling any venue regardless of the form of their teams. This is the situation going into the latest edition.

Both teams stumbled in their previous matches, sparking questions about whether the hype around the showdown is justified. Though the Soweto rivals are both still chasing league honours — Pirates are tied at the top of the table with Sundowns and Chiefs are fourth — the defeats have dampened the spirit ahead of Saturday’s clash. Pirates suffered a 2-1 defeat to league title rivals Mamelodi Sundowns, which reduced their points lead in the log.

Then they were bundled out of the Nedbank Cup last 16 on penalties by second-tier outfit Casric Stars in the biggest upset of this season’s competition. Chiefs are also wobbling after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Egyptian giants Zamalek which eliminated them from the CAF Confederation Cup before being beaten by Stellenbosch FC by the same scoreline in a midweek league clash. One staunch Pirates supporter was so gutted by the loss to Stars that he decided not to attend the derby.

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Tickets were sold out a while back. Pirates supporters are desperately hoping for victory in the derby to make up for the disappointing losses which have piled pressure on coach Abdeslam Ouaddou. This is even though Ouaddou has already brought two trophies to the club and is in the race for league honours. For Chiefs, a defeat would have a lesser impact on interim co-coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze because the club’s lofty expectations were lowered after the departure of head coach Nasreddine Nabi.

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