Orlando Pirates boss Josef Zinnbauer says his side would go into their CAF Confederations Cup Group A clash against Nigerian giants Enyimba with much optimism and confidence despite dropping points against Swallows FC at the weekend. The fixture is scheduled to take place in Aba, Nigeria, on Wednesday.
A 1-1 result at the weekend was the second straight stalemate for Pirates, after they were also held by ES Setif in another continental game last week.
Up next for the Buccaneers is a trip to Aba on Wednesday, where they need just a point to seal their passage into the quarter-finals of the second-tier continental club competition.
Given their last game at the weekend, it was not the right sort of result to bring into a continental game. After a Thulani Hlatshwayo’s own goal saw Pirates down against Swallows early on, Tshegofatso Mabasa came off the bench to rescue a point for the saved the Soweto giants’ day.
Regardless, Zinnbauer wants to put that result behind him and focus only on their upcoming encounter.
“Next we have an important game against Enyimba,” said Zinnbauer.
“I think the positives we are taking to the Enyimba match is that we played well against Swallows, but I would be happier if we had better results to take it to our next game.
“But the performance gives us hope going forward. We can play on Wednesday without fear.”
Group A is in a rather peculiar situation as all teams have a chance at qualification going into the final game.
Pirates boast a two-point gap on top of the group and a point will be enough to see them through while victory for Enyimba will see the Nigerian outfit equally progress.
Once again, Zinnbauer says he is only taking games as they come and is not thinking about a Champions League spot or the title. However, he did say that his side deserved thee points against Swallows at the weekend.
A win would have strengthened their push for a top-three spot which will give them an assurance of a spot in continental football next season.
“It was a good game for us. I think we deserved three points,” he added.
“But we won’t speak about it, the title or the Champions League spot. It’s still a long way, but we still need points for these targets. It is a long way. But we will fight for it.”