Pirates banking on CL experience

Orlando Pirates will look to use the momentum of a successful run in the Caf Champions League to their advantage when they return to domestic action this weekend.

“We're looking forward to this. We're very excited to be playing in the Knockout,” Pirates coach Roger de Sa said ahead of Saturday's Telkom semifinal fixture against SuperSport United in Atteridgeville, near Pretoria.

“We want to keep that momentum going. It's good to be back in the country.”

Pirates have had to put their local campaign on hold after their impressive showing in the Champions League, reaching the final where they were eventually beaten 3-1 on aggregate by Egyptian side Al Ahly earlier this month.

Pirates headed into the knockout fixture having already beaten United once this season, advancing to the semifinals of the MTN8 Cup competition by narrowly edging the Pretoria team on penalties.

The game ended 2-2 following extra-time, but Pirates held their nerve, winning 4-3 thanks to a superior display from the penalty spot.

Less impressive however, was the fact that the Buccaneers had already reached two finals since August – the MTN8 and the Champions League –but missing out on both occasions.

Platinum Stars beat De Sa's outfit in the final of the local cup competition, before Ahly lifted their eighth African title in Cairo.

De Sa said Pirates were hungry for success, and hoped the Soweto giants would make it through to their third final before going the distance and lifting the trophy.

"We always prepare the team as best as we can. We get to the final every time, but we want to put the cherry on the top by winning,” De Sa said.

“But we have to be at our best if we want to get past SuperSport. I don't think we played badly in either of the finals. I thought we were pretty good and we weren't outplayed.”

SuperSport's Cavin Johnson, meanwhile, said the difference between winning and losing was simply a question of which team grabbed the opportunities.

“It all boils down to the 90 minutes …and who wants it more,” Johnson said.

“Hopefully, this week the SuperSport players are that much more geared to take it to the next level.”

Both coaches agreed one player who could prove crucial to the result was Kermit Erasmus, who joined Pirates from SuperSport four months ago and had been in good form for his new team.

“It wasn't easy losing him to Pirates. When you play for Pirates, you have to be that special,” Johnson said of his former player.

“That's what Kermit brings to the table. But knowing who he is and what he is, we'll try and nullify those special moments and try and keep him as quiet as possible.

“Kermit is a special player and he has a lot to offer as far as the Pirates line-up is concerned.”

Erasmus was not eligible to play for the Sea Robbers during the Champions League as he had been involved in United's Caf Confederations Cup campaign before transferring to Pirates.

"Kermit was dearly missed by us. We felt that there were many instances and many games where we wished we could have had him registered with us for the Caf championship,” De Sa said.

“We've used him in every other competition where we can, so we know what he brings to the club and what he can bring us.

“We're very glad to have him available to play from here on in.

Simukonda ready Arrows

Nchanga Rangers coach Fighton Simukonda says he does not believe Red Arrows will enjoy home advantage when they clash in the Barclays Cup final this Saturday in Lusaka.

The two sides will face-off in this year’s final at Arrows home ground at Nkoloma Stadium.

Organisers of the tournament traditionally pick the final venue during the preliminary semifinal draws.

“It doesn’t matter whether you play home or away,” Simukonda said.

“It just depends on the way you have prepared for the game.”

This will be the two sides first ever meeting in the Barclays Cup final since the inaugural tournament was held in 2007.

Furthermore, this will also be Nchanga and Arrows’s debut final in both sides third appearance in the tournament.

Nchanga and Arrows previous best Barclays Cup showing were quarterfinal appearances in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

Meanwhile, Nchanga and Arrows warmed up for Saturday’s final with training games on Thursday at their respective bases in Chingola and Lusaka.

At Nchanga Stadium in Chingola, Nchanga beat Konkola Mine 2-1.

Bornwell Mwape headed in Nchanga’s first goal before Mine Police equalised through Jack Sunzu.

Emmanuel Phiri’s late second half shot handed Nchanga the win as their prepared to drive down to Lusaka on Friday.

At Nkoloma, Arrows beat the Zambia Under-20 team 1-0 thanks to a goal from midfielder Shadreck Malambo.

Top against bottom in NFD

Thanda Royal Zulu will look to pull off a major upset in the National First Division when they visit log leaders Milano United at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Amabhubesi are winless in their last five matches and remain at the bottom of the table with five points from five matches, while Milano are unbeaten this season and currently occupying top spot with 23 points.

Newly-appointed coach Ronnie Moroka has been unable to change the fortunes of the Richards Bay-based outfit so far but he believes they will be no pushovers when they travel to the Cape.

“All our preparations have gone well, we are all looking forward to the game, and one thing I can tell you is that we are going to be competitive on the day,” he told the club’s website.

“Another point to consider is to ensure that we absorb pressure and study their weaknesses as early as possible so that we can punish them, Milano are a formidable side and this will require lots of hard work and focus.”

The NFD action will resume on Friday night with the improving Roses United hosting Santos at the Makhulong Stadium, while Chippa United will welcome Baroka FC to the Philippi Stadium.

The Chilli Boys are currently in second place with 18 points and will be looking for their sixth win of the season in order to reduce the gap between them and Milano.

On Saturday afternoon, Black Leopards will look to continue with their steady rise up the log standings when they take on Maluti FET College at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Lidoda Duvha have collected seven points from their last three league outings while Maluti are unbeaten in their last seven matches.

FC Cape Town will be in search of back-to-back wins when they face Vasco Da Gama at Parow Park, while fellow-strugglers Jomo Cosmos and Blackburn Rovers will meet at the Makhulong Stadium.

African Warriors will aim to break into the top three when they host Witbank Spurs at the Charles Mopeli Stadium on Sunday afternoon, while Sivutsa Stars will be hoping to end their four-match winless streak against United FC at the Moruleng Stadium. 

Wafu Cup starts with Ghana win

The GoTV WAFU Cup kicked off to a flurry of goals as Ghana beat Sierra Leone 4-1 in the opener.

Sponsored by GoTV, an offspring of African media giant DStv, the sub-regional event has been hailed as a timely showcase of what West Africa has to offer.

Ghana is fielding the local component of its Black Stars, and at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi and came from a goal down to win.

The Black Stars went down early from Quee opener early in the first half to equalize through Kotoko midfielder Michael Akuffu.

Maxwell Konadu’s team grabbed the game from then on with a second goal from Latif Salifu and Medeama’s Theophilus Anobaah as well as Sulley Mohammed finished it off.

The Black Stars will look to cement a place in the next round of the competition with a win their next game against Benin

Fans encouraged to buy Chan tickets

Soccer fans will be offered sizeable discounts for the African Nations Championship (Chan) tournament if they buy their tickets early, Local Organising Committee (LOC) chief executive Mvuzo Mbebe said on Friday.

"Twenty percent discounts will be applicable for the first phase of sales," Mbebe said.

"Up to 15 percent will then be applicable for the second phase. If we discount the prices, it is an incentive to buy early."

Tickets for the first phase of release would go on sale from November 29, with the cheapest tickets selling for as little as R40.

The 20 percent discount was available until January 5 and Mbebe was confident supporters would embrace the initiative in order for them to qualify for cheaper tickets.

The tournament, which gets underway on January 11, with Cape Town, Mangaung, and Polokwane hosting the event.

South Africa successfully hosted the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament earlier this year, and the LOC were determined to make next year's event as successful as the Afcon spectacle.

"The main thing for us, is to maintain the high standard that we set for Afcon," Mbebe said.

"We'll ensure full stadiums and good attendances... which we achieved during Afcon.

"It will ensure the football brand in Africa is enhanced. It's critical that this tournament is sustainable on it's own and we hope the ticket system will aid in that."

Mbebe said ticket prices were based on a number of factors, including the timing of the event, which followed shortly after the festive period.

"We looked at what worked and what didn't work at Afcon and we fixed those things.

"We had to look at the affordability of our ticket prices. We are very conscious of this tournament coming just after Christmas.

"People are in the process of paying off bills and paying for their children to go to school."

South Africa were drawn to face Mozambique in the opening match of the tournament, with Nigeria and Mali completing a tough group A.

Three tiers of tickets were available, with 'category 1' tickets the most expensive, selling for R70 during the group stages and increasing to R200 for the opening ceremony and the final.

The Chan tournament, administered by the Confederation of African Football (Caf), was established in 2007 and first contested in 2009. It would be contested between the top 16 national teams in Africa.

Teams had to qualify for the event and could only comprise players active in their local leagues. Players who played outside of their own national leagues, regardless of where, did not qualify to take part in the competition.

Saints pack power up top - Pochettino

The key to Southampton's success this season is as much due to their cerebral powers as their soccer skills, says manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The surprise package of the season so far, the south coast Saints sit a lofty third in the table, and could vault to the top of the Premier League if results go their way this weekend when they visit leaders Arsenal.

Their exploits are drawing ever more admiring glances from pundits and commentators, and international managers are dipping into the Saints squad to seed their own teams with Pochettino's men.

The key to this rapid success, the Argentine says, is the players' mental capacity to grasp his methods.

"I have at my disposal really intelligent players that have great potential and great skill," the 41-year-old told reporters.

"It doesn't surprise me the fact that they learnt my methods - or the team's methods - so quickly because they have the skill, necessary ability and capacity to understand what we want from them.

"I have full confidence in my staff and I have full confidence in my players. I think that's what enabled us to actually come this far... the fact that we have full confidence in our methods and our professionalism as a group of technical managers."

Southampton, three points adrift of leaders Arsenal on 22 points from 11 matches, travel to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, still blanching from last season's 6-1 hammering.

It is a very different side which tackles the Gunners this time, though - all season they have conceded just five goals; fewer than the half-dozen Arsenal belted past them in that one match.

"We believe we can get a positive result out of this game," Pochettino said. "We always believe in that.

"(This team have) come so far in such a short period of time. We've been progressing as a team, from strength to strength. We have a lot of young players that are coming from the Academy and pushing very hard and playing very well.

"We don't have any worries about the depth of our squad because we have a lot of young players that guarantee us a very good immediate future. We're covered in that sense.

Club licensing to determine NPFL kick-off

The 2013/14 season of the Glo Premier League, otherwise known as the Nigeria Professional Football League, will only commence after the completion of the club licensing.

The League Management Company (LMC) Limited, Honourable Nduka Irabor, said the fundamental issues of the NPFL will be thrashed out to restructure the top flight in Nigeria before the season kicks off.

“Club licensing is very fundamental to the restructuring process and we will have to finish with it before announcing a kick-off date for the new season. We are very hopeful that when it is released by the NFF (Nigeria Football Federation), the clubs will work hard to meet the requirements within the stipulated time. This is not likely to be any time before the end of the African Nations Championship for domestic leagues (CHAN)," said Irabor at the League Bloggers Awards in Lagos this week.

“I am privy to the extensive work done so far by the NFF and in a matter of days, the licensing regulation will be released and there are lots of benefits it offers to the league, clubs and football business. Only those clubs that meet the requirement will participate in the League when it eventually kicks off."

Irabor also made it clear that only clubs that meet the requirement for the licensing process will participate in the Glo Premier League.

The LMC chairman disclosed that part of the requirement for meeting the club licensing is "to provide bank guarantees" as a proof by the clubs to meet their financial responsibilities.

The former Nigerian lawmaker also noted that the licensing regulations will bring about improved quality first-team players groomed from organised youth team structures as well as improved welfare package for players and improved stadium facilities for players and fans.

“There is nothing that says it must be 20 clubs and we cannot start the league until this process of licensing is completed.

“It is important that we make the clarification that clubs are not paying any money to the LMC but are to provide bank guarantees which will be a proof of their capacity to meet financial obligations throughout the season.

“Some of the benefits that this will bring to clubs include the guaranteed supply of quality and well-trained first squad players from the clubs’ youth development programme required under the sporting criteria. There will be improved facilities for players and improved stadium conditions for fans while providing attractive return on investments for commercial partners and investors,” said Irabor.

In September, African football governing body, Caf, notified its member federations that it has set a December 31 deadline for the club licensing regulations before any club from any of its affiliated member federations can take in the Champions League or Confederation Cup.

Fifa informed its members through a circular on December 28, 2007 that the "Club Licensing Regulations are the basic working document for the club licensing system.