Sekhukhune United coach Cedric Kaze calls for greater composure before Orlando Pirates double-header

Sekhukhune United coach Cedric Kaze says his players must improve their movement in the final third and become more composed in front of goal before facing Orlando Pirates twice in the space of a week.

Sekhukhune United, also known as Babina Noko, were beaten 1-0 by Orlando Pirates at home in the first leg of their MTN8 semi-final last weekend.

The two sides will meet again in the Betway Premiership on Tuesday before contesting the second leg of their cup tie next Saturday. Kaze believes Sekhukhune United must take the lessons from their opening defeat into both matches, beginning with a more positive approach.

The coach wants his team to improve the way they move into dangerous attacking positions, sharpen their technical execution and show greater calm when opportunities arise.

“We need to work more on our last third entries and have more composure, have more movements and have better technical accuracies. But I’m hoping that we’re going to get better,” said Kaze.

His assessment came after a match in which he felt Sekhukhune United improved after the interval. Although Orlando Pirates secured the advantage, Kaze said his side performed better in the second half and must reproduce that level from the beginning of their next encounter.

“I feel like we had a better second half. We were the better team in the second half.

“We need to bring that into the next game and go in with a positive mindset from the beginning and trust ourselves, trust our plan.

“And I hope and I’m pretty sure that we will do better.”

The immediate priority for Sekhukhune United is Tuesday’s Betway Premiership meeting, which gives them an opportunity to respond to their MTN8 loss before the teams return to cup action.

The result of that match will be followed by the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final next Saturday, meaning the clubs will face one another twice in a short period.

Kaze’s focus is on ensuring that Sekhukhune United approach the next game with confidence in their strategy. He has identified attacking movement, technical accuracy and finishing composure as the areas requiring the most attention.

The 1-0 first-leg defeat leaves Orlando Pirates with the advantage in the MTN8 tie, while Sekhukhune United now have two opportunities this week to produce a stronger response against the same opponents.

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