Pirates eye first spot

ORLANDO Pirates are bound to temporarily occupy the first spot if they find their way past Hotspurs in an MTC Premiership clash at the Sam Nujoma Stadium tonight. Kick-off is at 20h00.

Pirates are second on the log on 33 points behind defending champions and leaders African Stars, and a win can push them into the first spot, at least until Saturday when Stars meet Blue Waters at the coast. Stars are on 35 points and all teams have so far played 17 matches. Pirates can in fact stay on if Stars lose at the weekend and hope that will last long enough until the season comes to an end in May.Pirates were held to a 1-all draw by Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) last week and will aim to get back to their winning ways when they face Hotspurs, who are stuck at the base of the table with 12 points to date.For Pirates, it will also be a chance to reduce the chances of Stars to run away with their second consecutive title under coach Bobby Samaria.A win will be crucial for Dawid Snewe as coach to at least make up for the draw last week, while the players have to realise that the title can be within their grasp if they give their all in the remaining four matches.Pirates laboured to a draw against SKW last week after being saved by a penalty strike via Johannes Seibeb in a match that the home side dominated.The Pirates defence has been boosted with the arrival of their former stalwart, Richard Gariseb, but struggled to contain the speedy forwards of SKW at times, while Athiel Mbaha in goal had a torrid time as he was forced to make heart-stopping saves.BE PREPARED This time, with Hotspurs who are known for their never-say-die spirit, the Buccaneers can prepare themselves for even a bigger onslaught, as Willem Kapukare’s side will fight hard to move up from the bottom with the few matches remaining.Hotspurs have won only three matches this season, with 11 losses, but they have a better defence compared to United Stars which has conceded 38 goals, compared to Spurs which only let in 28.But with the relegation woes in mind, Hotspurs’ players have no choice but to fight for every point tonight and must approach this game with high expectations of winning it. A loss or draw should not even cross their minds despite the might of the opposition.Hotspurs have suffered immensely this season due to poor judgement by the referees, while some of their legitimate goals were not awarded, costing them points along the way.But the players of the Windhoek-based side have proven that they have a great fighting spirit which has led them to score more goals (19) than Eleven Arrows (15) who are placed fifth on the log. It will be a fight of David against Goliath on paper, but as the football season has moved into top gear, anything can come out of this encounter tonight. corry@namibian.com.na