Pirates to face Sfax of life

26 July 2015 - 02:00 By TSHEPANG MAILWANE

Pictures posted on Twitter on Friday afternoon clearly showed just how exhausted Orlando Pirates players were when they landed at Carthage Airport in Tunis. And to think, after flying for over 10hours via Dubai, the Buccaneers had not even reached their final destination.A three-hour bus trip to Sfax was still waiting for them before they could settle at their hotel. It's no wonder hardly any of the players were smiling in the pictures that were posted by the club on the different social networks.It also does not help that their CAF Confederation Cup clash match against CS Sfaxien was moved to today after it was initially scheduled for yesterday.story_article_left1With a tight schedule ahead next month, long trips such as the one to Sfax are sure to affect the Buccaneers, who need to bounce back in Group B after a 2-1 defeat to Zamalek a couple of weeks ago at Mbombela Stadium.Travelling for hours is nothing new for Pirates, but it's something they can never get used to. "It's something you really can't get used to, but we do not complain. Obviously the travelling is exhausting, but that's a part we cannot take away," Pirates administrator Floyd Mbele said."The flight left at 7.15pm (on Thursday) and they got to Dubai at 9am on Friday. They got to Tunis just after 12pm and they had to take a three-hour bus drive to Sfax. So it was a long trip for them."When you are travelling to the northern parts of Africa, except Egypt, there are no direct flights. You have to go via Europe or the east," Mbele said.Pirates have Carling Black Label Cup and MTN8 matches coming up after their clash with three-time Confederation Cup champions Sfaxien, and the medical team will be working overtime to ensure the players are ready for the challenge."It does not help to worry. It's not the first time we are in this situation. We had the same cycle in 2006/2007 when we competed in the Champions League. We do not complain," Mbele says."At the point when a team qualifies for a tournament like this one, you are then able to put up support structures to make sure that the team performs well on the field."When we qualify for CAF club competitions and we are travelling, fatigue generally develops over time. That's why I talk about support structures. We work towards minimising the effects. The medical team deals with this: things such as recuperation and rehydration because travelling takes a lot out of you. There is no easy way out when you are competing on the continent."Our match was moved to Sunday, but does it really impact us in any way? Not really."He's right. The Buccaneers are hardly ever affected by long trips, flying the SA flag high whenever they are on foreign land.story_article_right2They are yet to lose away from home in this year's competition and there's belief they will respond positively today.They face a Sfaxien side struggling for good form, with a defeat and a draw in their first two group matches. But that's no reason to underestimate the opponents.Sfaxien, who are coached by former Burkina Faso and Gabon coach Paulo Duarte, have all the experience in the world and cannot be ruled out of making a comeback and even winning a fourth Confederation Cup title.The Buccaneers left with new signing Luvoyo Memela, who has been added to the Pirates squad after signing from Cape Town All Stars last month. He netted 15 goals in the National First Division and coach Eric Tinkler is hoping the winger can make a mark in both the Confederation Cup and the PSL."What I have noticed is that he is a goal-scorer," Tinkler said. He is not just a winger. He likes getting into goal-scoring positions. We had five spaces to register players and it made sense to bring in a left-footed player in attack. He is also good in set pieces, which will help us."sports@timesmedia.co.za..

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