2019 Telkom Knockout Quarterfinal Preview: ”We can hurt Chiefs,” Joseph Makhanya – Former Orlando Pirates midfielder

“Sometimes these are the kinds of games you need to restore your pride and confidence. You win the Soweto Derby and everything changes, you become unstoppable and the confidence is back. Things start falling into place because when the team isn’t doing well, some players run back to their shells and become scared to make mistakes It is sometimes good to go into a game and Pirates should appreciate that.

When you win, you sometimes get too confident and end up losing focus by either undermining the opponent or winning the game before it even begins.

I think the boys can restore the supporters’ hope in this game and get their season back on track. We can hurt Chiefs by converting our chances because I believe we create more chances than anyone else in our league, but the problem is finishing. That’s not just a Pirates problem but the whole country because we haven’t had a prolific striker that scores more than 20 goals per season in a long time. We also need to sort out our defence so that we don’t give anything away, easily.

When the team is solid at the back, it gives confidence to the rest of the players going forward. As much as you need to score to win, you also need to defend your goals and, like I said, I feel this is the kind of game that we needed. This is the time when we need everyone to step up their game and not just rely on certain individuals to get the job done. We have to spread the load so that the opposition doesn’t even know who to look after. We also need to keep possession and dictate terms because, without the ball, Chiefs can’t really do much.”