Maela: Pirates Still Fighting For The PSL Title
Orlando Pirates defender Innocent Maela maintains that the league title is still within reach as long as they have a mathematical possibility of winning it.
Pirates lost 1-0 to Sekhukhune United on Wednesday, hindering their chances of catching up with the log leaders, Mamelodi Sundowns, in the Betway Premiership title race.
Having played 21 games, which is the least compared to other clubs in the league, Amabhakhaniya currently sit in second position with 46 points, 12 points behind Sundowns with 58 points.
Despite the loss to Sekhukhune, captain Maela believes that they are still in the title race, highlighting that the league is far from being over.
“No, I don’t believe the league is gone,” Maela stated.
“I don’t think the guys also believe that you know. I think as long as we have a chance to go out there, we never give up. But yeah, I mean it is an absolute setback for us not to collect the three points on Wednesday, but it is what it is. Now, it’s for us to make sure that we improve going into the next one and come back strong, but it’s far from being over.”
Following their MTN8 triumph, being second in the league, reaching the CAF Champions League semifinal, and the Nedbank Cup final, the 32-year-old acknowledged that they’ve had a great season and regard this as a breaking season.
Additionally, he encourages their supporters to be proud of the season they had.
“Yeah, I think when you look at our season overall, I think we had a very successful season, I think our season has been brilliant, a record-breaking season, you know,” the skipper said.
He continued, “But we also understand when we don’t win, the frustrations that happen throughout our fans, but we encourage them to take pride in the season we had. We’re still in the running for obviously winning the league, you know it’s still there, and also the cup final.
“So the season is far from being over, but I mean we’re frustrated when we don’t win, so you can just imagine how hard they are feeling, but we still have a lot to play for.”
In the meantime, the Soweto Giants are preparing for the highly anticipated league derby against their Soweto rivals, Kaizer Chiefs, at FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Furthermore, they’ll play them again in the Nedbank Cup final at Moses Mabhida Stadium next weekend.
