AmaZulu midfielder Ben Motshwari says seeing Orlando Pirates thumping Golden Arrows last weekend doesn’t mean they can do the same to them because they have the quality to go toe-to-toe with the Soweto giants.  

Steve Komphela’s Arrows were hammered with an avalanche of goals by Pirates, who crushed them 7-1 at Orlando Stadium in the DStv Premiership last weekend.  

Pirates are facing another team from the same city as Arrows – AmaZulu – in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (18:00).  

Pirates coach Jose Riveiro said on Tuesday’s press conference that they want to retain the trophy they won last season because the league is already in Mamelodi Sundowns’ pockets since they hardly lose matches.  

“It also goes with their (Arrows) approach, and we are not Golden Arrows,” argued Motshwari at the media day of AmaZulu in Durban on Wednesday. Motshwari is on loan at AmaZulu from Pirates until the end of the season.

Arrows were making elementary mistakes when they were trying to build from the back, with Pirates triggering that plan and pouncing. It fell to them perfectly and Tshegofatso Mabasa was there to feast, walking away with a hat-trick.  

“It also goes with an approach – Golden Arrows had a different game plan, in approaching that match. I don’t know what they were doing hence they were hammered 7-0,” continued Motshwari. 

“To us, it will be a different ball game altogether. But here, we are cautious, and they scored seven goals. Hopefully, they finished all those goals against Arrows because coming here is not going to be easy for them. We will give them a tough time; I think we do have a quality with players who can go pound for pound.”              

Unlike Pirates, AmaZulu is searching for their first Ke Yona Cup semifinal spot since 2012, where they lost to eventual winners SuperSport United. They reached the final of this competition two years before that when Neil Tovey’s side lost to Roger De Sa’s Bidvest Wits at FNB Stadium.