Dates, venues and kick-off times for the semifinals will be announced by the PSL at a later stage.
Orlando Pirates are set to travel for the first time in this year’s Carling Knockout after they were drawn away against Richards Bay FC in the semi finals draw held on Wednesday night.
The draw for the semis was conducted straight after the game between Marumo Gallants and Stellenbosch FC at the Dr Molemela Stadium, which Bahlabane Ba Ntwa won 4-0.
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Pirates played the previous two rounds at home at the Orlando Stadium where they beat Siwelele FC 1-0 in the last-16 round before edging the defending champions Magesi FC 2-1 in the quarterfinals. But the Buccaneers will travel to KwaZulu-Natal for the semifinals of the Carling Knockout.
It will be the second meeting between Pirates and Richards Bay in this competition, having contested the second round of the 2023/24 edition. On that occasion, a tightly-contested affair played in Durban was decided on penalties with the Natal Rich Boys eventually progressing after edging the shootout.
Will Richards Bay cause an upset and knock Pirates out of the Carling Knockout or will the Buccaneers prove too strong for them? Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, having guided Golden Arrows to the MTN8 crown in 2009, coach Manqoba Mngqithi is eager to win the Carling Knockout with Abafana Bes’thende.
Arrows, who edged TS Galaxy 2-1 in the quarterfinals at the weekend, were pitted against Gallants in the other semifinal clash.
“We have our own principles and playing concepts that I always want to polish, and maybe try to focus on that particular opponent. How can we use our way to get over them?” said Mngqithi after the game against Galaxy.
“If you remember the first time, I won the MTN8 with Arrows, I was facing the same issue myself as a coach, not having experienced players.
“Everybody was sure that we couldn’t make it because we faced a team [Ajax Cape Town] that was strong in cup matches, but I told them: ‘I didn’t repeat matric and I didn’t need experience to pass matric, I did it once.’
“In life, when you come across this moment, you must always want to conquer it even when you are not experienced,” added Mngqithi.
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Dates, venues and kick-off times for the semifinals will be announced by the Premier Soccer League (PSL) at a later stage.