Carelse warns Sundowns about Pirates’ pace ahead of MTN8 final

Former Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Brent Carelse says Orlando Pirates’ front three will pose the biggest threat in Saturday’s MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Pirates reached the final after a convincing 4-0 aggregate victory over Sekhukhune United in the semi-finals. Sundowns, meanwhile, needed the away-goals rule to progress after their tie against Golden Arrows finished 3-3 on aggregate.

Carelse believes Sundowns have the quality to control the match, but only if they can prevent Pirates’ attacking players from exploiting space in behind.

“I think they (Pirates) have got quality all over the field. But their front-three is what I’m more worried about, they are very active, they are very quick and decisive,” Carelse told KickOff.

“If we can just take care of that front-three and ensure that they don’t cause any damage, it will assist us. Other than that, I think Sundowns can dominate the pace of the game and control the game, they would stand a good chance.

“The only problem is that Pirates are very quick on the break, so we must just be careful of that.”

Carelse, who also played for Cape Town Spurs, expects a closely contested final between two of the leading-performing teams in the league.

The match will be Pirates’ first cup final of the season, while the club are seeking a fifth successive MTN8 title. Sundowns last won the competition in the 2021/22 season.

“But it’s going to be a very exciting final, two of the performing teams. For Pirates is the first cup of the season, a tough one for both teams. I think they know that it is the best against the best, basically,” Carelse said.

“We want to see goals, we want to see exciting football, we’re excited because we know those teams can produce that type of performance.”