Nedbank Cup: Baroka will try to kill ‘our big brothers’ Orlando Pirates - Mphahlele

Photo Credit - Baroka FC.

Baroka FC boss Khurishi Mphahlele has admitted to having a soft spot for Orlando Pirates but promised they will do everything to beat them when they face off in the Round of 16 fixture of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday.

According to Mphahlele, he could love Pirates to win many trophies this season but they should forget about the domestic Cup as they will face his side at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

“Pirates is a good and well-run team. We wish to be like them. Everybody wants to be like Pirates,” said Mphahlele as quoted by FARPost. “The chairman of Pirates is a humble person. We call each other now and then when there is a need. He will never turn you away. If you don’t find him he will come back to you. So to run a team of that magnitude and to find somebody so humble like Dr Irvin Khoza is rare.”

He continued: “Some other chairmen, you will never even be able to speak to them. They will send you a technical director or a team manager and talk to you about the business of football. So I find that man and that team to be professional,” he said.

“We wish him all the best to win the cups, but unfortunately, he is playing against us on Saturday. We treat ourselves with a development mentality. We learn from them. So, to us, they are our big brothers. So we are going to try and kill our big brothers, even though we don’t want to do that.”

The game will see the prestigious competition returning to Orlando Stadium for the first time since the Buccaneers hosted Baroka’s ABC Motsepe Championship rivals Hungry Lions at a similar stage on their way to picking up their 10th title.

While Pirates kicked off their title defence with a trip to Durban, where they defeated fellow Premiership outfit Richards Bay 3-1, Baroka achieved a similar feat away from home, going past third-tier outfit Umvoti with a convincing 3-0 scoreline in their Round of 32 encounter.