Chiefs vs Pirates: Johnson confident of Soweto derby win

The natural energy players have when they play in the Soweto derby is what gives Kaizer Chiefs coach Cavin Johnson confidence that they may get something in their match against Orlando Pirates at the FNB Stadium on Saturday.

The Soweto arch rivals meet after contrasting results in midweek Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches. Chiefs beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 1-0 and the favoured Pirates were held to a surprising draw by Cape Town Spurs.

The midweek results have given Johnson reason to be optimistic, while his Pirates counterpart, Jose Riveiro, will be bitterly disappointed that his team fluffed their chance of moving to second on the log with a 1-1 draw with PSL rookies Spurs.

Chiefs started 2024 poorly, failing to score in three matches before teenage striker Wandile Duba hit the winner for a 1-0 win over Golden Arrows on Tuesday.

Going into Saturday’s match there is not much separating them on the log. Pirates are fifth — on 30 points after 19 matches — and Chiefs are sixth with 29 points from 19 matches.

Both are far from assured of even securing a spot in one of the Caf club competitions next season.

Two SA sides finishing top and second in the PSL earn a spot in the Caf Champions League, while a team finishing third gets to play in the Caf Confederation Cup alongside winners of the Nedbank Cup.

Pirates and Chiefs have been blowing hot and cold in the league, giving clubs such as Stellenbosch FC, Cape Town City and SuperSport United belief they can fill the two spots below Mamelodi Sundowns, who are galloping to a seventh league title.

Johnson sounded confident on Thursday that Chiefs would attain at least one of the Caf spots, saying the result in Saturday’s derby would be key. Chiefs are already out of the Nedbank Cup after being beaten by first division team Milford FC two weeks ago.

Competing in Caf competitions “is one of our objectives”, said Johnson. “It’s been the club’s objective for a long time now and if we’re able to do [win] this one on Saturday it will give us a lot more to play for.

“We want to end as high as we can in the league and there’s about 10 games left. That’s one of the games to play but if we get a positive result on Saturday, then it will put us into a good standing going to the next 10 games left in the PSL.”

Johnson’s confidence of a win against Pirates grew when asked about Duba, the striker who was playing in the club’s reserve team not long ago.

“Duba has been planning this probably for the last three years,” said Johnson.

“He’s been preparing himself mentally to play in a derby, preparing himself mentally to play for Kaizer Chiefs. He’s been preparing himself to score goals. What a better time for him if he gets an opportunity to come into the derby and score.”

Johnson does not expect a derby win to earn him a permanent position to coach the club. He was appointed interim coach to replace Molefi Ntseki in October after a bad spell that included a loss to AmaZulu FC in the first round of the Carling Knockout Cup. “The derby is not about Cavin Johnson,” said the Chiefs coach.