ORLANDO Pirates defender Patrick Phungwayo says the team-building initiative they had recently was a much-needed remedy as they attempt to finish the season in the top five.
Pirates have shown improvement since new coach Kjell Jonevret took over from Augusto Palacios in February. The Swedish-born coach has drawn three Absa Premiership games so far, which all ended 1-1 – against Polokwane City, Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United respectively.
The 54-year-old also guided Pirates to a 3-1 victory over lower league side Eastern Cape Bees in the first round of the Nedbank Cup.
Bucs resume their league schedule on Saturday (6pm) with a date with relegation-haunted Free State Stars at the James Motlatsi Stadium. The match will be a dress rehearsal for the Nedbank Cup Last 16 round fixture between the two clubs at the same venue on 8 April.
The Soweto giants occupy 11th spot with 23 points from 20 matches, while Serame Letsoaka’s Ea Lla Koto are second from bottom with 19 points from 21 matches.
Only four points separate Stars from rookies Baroka FC, who are at the basement.
Phungwayo said they as players initiated the team-building exercise as they felt they needed to get back to basics in light of their slump.
“We had a lot of fun and it served its purpose of uniting the team. It will help us move forward to achieve the goals we have set,” he said.
Added Phungwayo: “Our coach didn’t have time in the past three weeks to make us understand what he requires, so the initiative was also to reflect on what we have done in our past four games. We now know what he expects from us and will do our best to give our fans something to cheer about.”
But the 29-year-old is aware it won’t be easy to overcome Ea Lla Koto, who are desperate for points to retain their PSL status.
“The second round is not easy,” he noted. “They are desperate, but we also need points to move up the table and show that we are still a big team. Stars players have speed and a high work rate.
“If we can match them we stand a good chance of victory. They have a tricky coach who can surprise us. We need to be ready for anything they throw at us.”
WEEKEND FIXTURES
SATURDAY
3pm: SuperSport United v Baroka FC (Mbombela Stadium); Golden Arrows v Highlands Park (Princess Magogo Stadium); 6pm: Free State Stars v Orlando Pirates (James Motlatsi Stadium); Bidvest Wits v Platinum Stars (Bidvest Stadium); 8.15pm: Kaizer Chiefs v Mamelodi Sundowns (FNB Stadium); Maritzburg United v Ajax Cape Town (Harry Gwala Stadium).
SUNDAY
3pm: Polokwane City v Bloem Celtic (Old Peter Mokaba Stadium).
Absa Premiership
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cape Town City | 21 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 29 | 20 | 9 | 39 |
| 2 | Bidvest Wits | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 16 | 17 | 38 |
| 3 | SuperSport United | 20 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 32 | 12 | 20 | 37 |
| 4 | Kaizer Chiefs | 21 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 36 |
| 5 | Mamelodi Sundowns | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 30 | 9 | 21 | 34 |
| 6 | Polokowane City | 21 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 23 | 24 | -1 | 27 |
| 7 | Golden Arrows | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 29 | -7 | 27 |
| 8 | Platinum Stars | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 20 | 4 | 25 |
| 9 | Chippa United | 21 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 23 |
| 10 | Maritzburg Utd | 21 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 19 | 25 | -6 | 23 |
| 11 | Orlando Pirates | 20 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 21 | 30 | -9 | 23 |
| 12 | Ajax Cape Town | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 21 | 29 | -8 | 22 |
| 13 | Highlands Park | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 35 | -14 | 20 |
| 14 | Bloem Celtic | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 21 | -9 | 19 |
| 15 | Free State Stars | 21 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 27 | -10 | 19 |
| 16 | Baroka FC | 21 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 32 | -17 | 15 |
