Matlaba insists Bucs won't be gunning for revenge against Sundowns

Memories of Orlando Pirates’ 6-0 humiliation by Mamelodi Sundowns in the beginning of the year are still very fresh but Bucs captain Thabo Matlaba is adamant that revenge will be the furthest thing from their minds when the two sides meet in a eagerly awaited league showdown at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night.

Sundowns effortlessly wiped the floor with Pirates without so much as breaking into a sweat in a game that was marred by violent disruptions at Loftus Stadium.

Matlaba said they would not obsess about the embarrassing defeat in February and attempt to inflict similar punishment on Sundowns‚ who are in the midst of a slump and have lost their last three games in a row.

‘‘No‚ we are not looking for revenge and we are just focusing on the match‚” Matlaba said.

‘‘We are (approaching) this match in the same way as we would any other match.

‘‘We are not treating this match special just because it is Sundowns.

‘‘We know that we lost against them (in February)‚ so we need to go there and play our normal football and win the match. That’s it.”

Fights broke out and an armoured police vehicle drove onto the pitch in one of the most dramatic scenes seen in the Premier Soccer League in February.

Then Pirates coach Augusto Palacios presided over the 6-0 hiding by Sundowns and did not return to the bench to resume his duties after violence disrupted the game in the second half.

He also did not turn up at the post-match press conference.

The Peruvian-born coach made a beeline for the tunnel after trouble broke out and vanished into thin air.

Current Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic‚ who joined the club in August‚ acknowledged that the two clubs know each other very well and fans can brace themselves for a pulsating night of football between two quality sides.

‘‘I know that we cannot repeat anything from the point of view of our game plan‚” he said.

‘‘It is very simple: They know everything about us. We know everything about them.

‘‘A small detail can decide the outcome of the game.

"We shall do everything possible for things to go on our side.

‘‘Every match of this magnitude is usually decided by a small detail.

"There is a very thin line between winning and losing.

‘‘They lost their last three matches and whatever‚ but those last three match will not be playing the game on Wednesday.

‘‘The 6-0 defeat will not play on Wednesday.

"Us talking big will not play on Wednesday.

"Us doing so much on the field will play on Wednesday.

‘‘You know I am a person who really loves big matches and this one is a match I am looking forward to see what will happen."