Sekhukhune United boss Cedric Kaze demands courage against Orlando Pirates

Sekhukhune United coach Cedric Kaze has challenged his players to show greater bravery when they meet defending champions Orlando Pirates in the first leg of the MTN8 semi-final at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday (15:00).

Kaze was unhappy with Sekhukhune’s display in their 2-0 league defeat by his former club Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium last week. He said his side had failed to show the personality normally associated with them and warned that a similar performance would not be good enough against Orlando Pirates.

“[Against Chiefs, where they lost 2-0 in the league at FNB Stadium last week] I didn’t recognise my team that normally has the personality to take on the challenges,” Kaze told a press conference at the MTN8 headquarters in Fairland, Johannesburg, on Thursday.

“I didn’t like that game [against Chiefs], and I made sure that the players are very aware of that because I thought we played without courage. We played with a handbrake on.

“The response was very good against Polokwane [in their next game, where they won 2-0 at Seshego Stadium] and I hope that on Saturday [against Pirates] we will have a positive attitude and a positive mindset to take the game to the opponent and to know the moments.”

The coach joined Sekhukhune United at the start of the season after helping Kaizer Chiefs secure a third-place finish while working as co-coach alongside Khalil Ben Youssef.

His new side will face Orlando Pirates three times within seven days, beginning with Saturday’s cup semi-final. The teams will then meet in a league fixture at Orlando Amstel Arena on Tuesday before returning to the same venue for the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final on 29 August.

Kaze acknowledged the scale of the challenge posed by Orlando Pirates, who have won the MTN8 four consecutive times, but said Sekhukhune United would approach the demanding schedule determined to compete.

“It’s a very big week for us, playing the same team three times. We know how big the mountain we need to climb is because we are playing against the defending champions, who’ve won this cup four times in a row. But we want to compete and we need to be at our best,” Kaze stressed.

The match was originally scheduled to take place at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium. However, pitch rehabilitation work led to the fixture being moved to the smaller Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.

Kaze said the change of venue would not be used as an excuse, insisting that his team must adapt to different circumstances. Sekhukhune United have already played twice at Seshego Stadium, where they collected points despite the venue not being their preferred option.

“My team has to be able to perform in any situation and on any field,” Kaze noted. “I just have to deal with what’s in front of me. Seshego Stadium wasn’t the best stadium we could’ve dreamt of playing at, but we managed to get points in the two games we played there. So, we just have to embrace the challenge.”