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BUCS’ LAST CHANCE FOR GLORY!

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Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret aims to restore Bucs’ pride in the Nedbank Cup.Photo byTrevor Kunene
Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret aims to restore Bucs’ pride in the Nedbank Cup.Photo byTrevor Kunene

ORLANDO Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret says the Nedbank Cup is their last hope of adding silverware to their trophy cabinet this season.

Pirates travel to the Eastern Cape for a date with unknown ABC Motsepe league side EC Bees in their Last 32 round match at Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Sunday (3pm).

This is a crucial match for the Swedish born mentor as he is still searching for his first win since he took charge of Bucs two weeks ago.

Jonevret drew his third successive league game on Tuesday when his side held title-chasers SuperSport United to a 1-1 draw at Orlando Stadium.

Said Jonevret: “We have a cup game on Sunday and it’s really important for us. I’d like to win the cup, it’s a fantastic feeling. I think I have won cups seven or eight times as a player and coach at different clubs. It’s the easiest way for us to get out there and play on the continent. We need to go 100% all out to try and win.”

The Nedbank Cup winners qualify for the Caf Confederation Cup.

However, Jonevret is aware that the minnows will come with guns blazing to prove their worth against the experienced Bucs players.

He went on: “I know how difficult it is to play those games everybody expects us to win. I hate them because those teams fight like no other.

“It will be tough, so I will go there with what we think is the best lineup for the day.

“I will change a few players but it won’t be a whole new team. The cup should be our chance to get something and we must grab that chance.”

Although Bucs have gone 12 matches without a win in all competitions, Jonevret insisted there was no crisis in the dressing-room.

“I see a lot of happy faces and there is a lot of love in the team. We spoke about a new start two weeks ago. We have played three games in a row now and parts of them have been really good. The players have responded well.

“We can’t worry about what happened in the past – we look ahead, to the future. If we continue like this we will start winning games. I don’t see a problem in the locker room.”

Jonevret is positive that a rusty Thamsanqa Gabuza will soon find his scoring form. “I haven’t seen other strikers but he is really good in the box. He gets into duels all the time.

“He did really well against Chiefs because he worked hard and managed to win the ball. If Gabuza had the ball more often against SuperSport he could have made a difference.

“He hadn’t played for a long time and I think he will get better. We will have to wait and see.

“If we score a lot of goals at training, then we will score a lot of goals out there,” the coach added.

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