Matlaba on the Stars game

 After impressing the technical team and winning the hearts of the supporters with his recent performances for the club, defender Thabo Matlaba remains humble and focussed on the job at hand.

Matlaba, who joined the club during the January transfer window, has proven to be one of the most important players in the Pirates setup of late. However, on Saturday he is set to encounter one of his toughest challenges since joining the Buccaneers ship.

On the weekend, Matlaba will for the first time come face to face with his former teammates when Orlando Pirates host in-form Free State Stars in the Last 16 of the Nedbank Cup at the Orlando Stadium.

The 24-year old told Orlandopiratesfc.com that he will be always grateful to Stars, for giving him his first break in the professional ranks.

He said: “I am looking forward to the match against Free State (Stars), this is the team that gave me my first professional contract….I will always appreciate what they have did for me while I was at the club.”

As for his personal ambitions ahead of this encounter, Matlaba said: “You ask any player and he will tell you that there is no greater match for him than playing against his former team – I am no different. I feel the exactly the same way.

“I think we need this trophy more than any other team… being a champion comes with great responsibility and for us the challenge is to defend the title which should justify why we are the champions in the first place.”

Despite the fact that Pirates will be playing at home on Saturday, the speedy full back heeded caution against underestimating Steve Komphela’s men.

“The coach (Steve Komphela) is a very knowledgeable man and I know in games like these he will try his best to win; we will need to be at our best if we are to beat them over the weekend.”
He added: “Unfortunately this is a knockout competition and only one team goes to the next stage – hopefully it will be us.”

The match will take place at Orlando Stadium on March 28th. Kick-off is at 18h00.