Can Orlando Pirates survive ‘squeaky bum time?’

If Pirates fail to beat ORBIT on Saturday, this could be a game that leaves psychological scars for some time to come.

Orlando Pirates should win the Betway Premiership tomorrow at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. But then they should have (all but) wrapped it up at the Orlando Amstel Arena last weekend. And they didn’t.

Football does funny things to teams when it comes to what former Manchester United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson coined ‘squeaky bum time’.

Pirates’ scoring woes last weekend

All of a sudden a free-scoring team like Pirates can’t make the net bulge. They had over 30 shots against Durban City in Orlando and none went in.

Maybe this was simply an anomaly that will all be balanced out as Pirates win 6-0 at ORBIT College tomorrow. Pirates fans would no doubt take a 1-0 win in stoppage time via an own goal.

The game is given added spice by the fact that ORBIT are fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table and desperately need a victory. If ORBIT do finish 15th, they will get another chance in the promotion/relegation play-offs. But no one wants that lottery to finish their campaign off.

If Pirates fail to beat ORBIT on Saturday, this could be a game that leaves psychological scars for some time to come.

You can say what you like about Pirates doing well to simply keep pace with Mamelodi Sundowns, who are chasing a ninth Premiership title on the spin. If Pirates can’t get over the line, with Sundowns all played out, it will be a choke of epic proportions.

Sundowns will no doubt watch on television from Morocco, hoping for a timely boost ahead of Sunday’s Caf Champions League final, second leg against AS FAR.

Games in hand are not points

Some at the Tshwane giants probably thought the game was up after the 3-2 loss to TS Galaxy in their 30th and last league game of the campaign.

But games in hand are not points on the board, and Pirates now need to make this last game in hand count. It could be argued that South African football needs Pirates to win the title. There is frankly nothing more dull than the same team winning the title every single season.

Sundowns have turned the Premiership into a procession over the last eight years, apart from the 2019/20 campaign, when Chiefs ran them close.

Amakhosi fumbled the ball in their very last game, drawing with Baroka while Sundowns beat Black Leopards. Surely Pirates will not suffer a similar fate?