The Sea Robbers are looking to try and reach their second Confed Cup final, having lost out to Tunisian giants Etoile du Sahel back in 2015
Orlando Pirates head coach Josef Zinnbauer remains optimistic that he can guide the Buccaneers past Raja Casablanca and into the Caf Confederation Cup semi-finals.
Things had been looking good for Pirates on Sunday when Vincent Pule netted six minutes before halftime at the Orlando Stadium to give his side the lead in their first-leg quarter-final clash against Raja.
But the Moroccan side came out firing in the second half and equalised 15 minutes after the restart through DR Congo striker Ben Malango.
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The away goal will gives Raja the advantage in Sunday’s return game, and it’s also worth noting that Pirates have not won their last three away Confederation Cup fixtures – two draws and a defeat.
Zinnbauer, however, says he has faith in his men and wants them to take the game to Raja by scoring first on Sunday.
“We have no fear, but we have respect for Casablanca because they’re a big club,” the German said, as quoted by the Sowetan.
“We have a chance in the second leg and we’re looking forward to it. We are confident we can score there and we will fight more. The target is to score first,” Zinnbauer stated.
The Pirates trainer is hoping that his options will be boosted by the return of several players from injury, including Thembinkosi Lorch, who came off the bench last weekend.
“We will maybe get injured players back,” Zinnbauer continued
“They’re coming closer to fitness and I hope next week we’ll have some of them back in the team. The list of our injured players is long but maybe Monare, Dzvukamanja and Ofori can help us in the second leg.”
The other clubs in the quarter-finals are Cameroon side Cotonsport, who have a 1-0 advantage over Jaraaf of Senegal, as well as Pyramids (Egypt) who lead Nigerian side Enyimba 4-1, and Kabylie (Algeria), who are 1-0 up against Sfaxien of Tunisia.
