Gallants riding the wave but will be tested by wounded Pirates

Marumo Gallants are on a high after four successive wins in all competitions in their past four matches and will be motivated to advance to the quarterfinals of the Nedbank Cup at the expense of Orlando Pirates.

Gallants host Pirates in a last-16 clash at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Wednesday fresh from their win over Stellenbosch, while the Soweto giant’s wounds are open after they lost their marquee fixture in the derby against Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend.

Gallants assistant coach Raymond Mdaka said their recent form will count for nothing against Pirates. “It’s going to be one of the most difficult games we have played,” said Mdaka.

The last time Gallants lost a match was against Pirates in the Premier Soccer League in December 2021. They have since gone on a winning spree against Chippa United away, Baroka and Stellenbosch at home, before dispatching amateurs Santos in the last-32 of the Nedbank Cup.

Gallants have eased their relegation concerns with three successive league wins that steered them 10 points clear of danger and Mdaka said that will allow the players to play freely.

“We had to make sure we move away from the bottom of the table knowing there are some Cup games in between, but the priority for us was to make sure we play with less pressure.

“When you move away from the relegation zone, you don’t have a lot of pressure like when you are bottom of the log, but pressure will remain.

“We want to maintain the attitude of winning regardless of it being a league or Cup game.

“We’ll always approach our games in relation to our main objective of trying to play much better and do better than the previous game.

“We are playing a team of the calibre of Pirates but we are ready for the match,” he said.