Pirates in Stars hunt

DEFENDING premiership champions Orlando Pirates have to shake off a determined African Stars side to stay in the hunt when the two clash in an epic encounter pencilled for the Independence Stadium tomorrow night. Kick-off is at 20h00.

Pirates will go in as favourites judging from their third place standing in the league behind Eleven Arrows and SKW, while Stars, in fourth spot, will wear the underdog cap.Pirates come from a draw (3-3) against Oshakati City last weekend and that will require coach Brian Isaacs to go for a win, while Stars, after an away win against Mighty Gunners at the weekend, will aim at retaining the momentum while keeping their record clean on losses.A loss for Pirates will surely expose their vulnerability at this stage of the season, while it will also not augur well for coach Brian Isaacs, who despite the depth of the squad, compromises on his selection. The Pirates defence is rock solid but with Stars having some fine players who attack from the flanks, it won’t be easy for the Buccaneers to keep a clean slate. The Stars strikers have developed a tendency of peppering any goalkeeper with well-directed shots at goal, while they have also become more clinical than in previous seasons.Pirates have to look at ways how to shut out Jamu Ngatjizeko’s dominance in midfield, keep at bay the industrious Dennis Ngueza and effectively deal with the superb and rather dangerous crosses of Edison ‘Masinga’ Muheua. Stars will also welcome back their sensational midfielder Rudi Louw, who was red-carded against SKW in an earlier match, while Pirates still have to wait a little longer to take on former FC AK defender Ivan Namaseb.Namaseb, a Brave Warriors defender, turned out for Pirates in friendly matches after he left the South African outfit this year. His papers are not yet ready to make him eligible to play for his former club, Pirates.Pirates have to depend on Eric ‘Ommes’ Aoseb, George Tsamaseb, but there is still no clarity on Mohammed Ouseb’s return, who is still nursing a knee injury. Stars will surely kick up the dust in this one, but Pirates will also aim to chase them down with all they have. – corry@namibian.com.na