Baroka ready 'to kill big brother' Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup - 'We will kill even though we don't want to do that'

Defending Nedbank Cup champions Orlando Pirates hope to go all the way in the ongoing edition.

The Soweto giants have been paired with the second-tier outfit Baroka, with the winner qualifying for the quarter-final.

Baroka beat Umvoti 3-0 to set a date with the Buccaneers who had eliminated Richards Bay with a convincing 3-1 win.

On paper, Bucs have everything they need to win in terms of quality as opposed to their opponents.

However, Bakgakga chairman Khurishi Mphahlele is convinced his team has what it takes to advance to the next phase.

He has further lauded Pirates chairman Dr. Irvin Khoza for his role in ensuring the team is successful.

“Pirates is a good team, Pirates is very, very good team, very well run team and we wish to be like them. Everybody wants to be like Pirates and the chairman of Pirates is a humble person," he said in a pre-match interview.

“We phone each other now and then when there’s a need. He’ll never turn you away and if you don’t find him he’ll come back to you.

“To run a team of that magnitude and to find somebody who is so humble like Dr Irvin Khoza is rare because other chairmen you’ll never even be able to speak to them.

"They’ll send you the Technical Director, they’ll send you the team manager to talk to you about the business of football.

“I find that man to be running that team very professional, we wish him all the best he wins the cups. And unfortunately, he is playing against us on Saturday and we treat ourselves with a development mentality. We learn from them.

“To us he is our big brother so we are going to try to kill our big brother even though we don’t want to do that," Mphahlele concluded.

After becoming the only team to win MTN8 three times in a row, Pirates are determined to repeat the feat in the Nedbank Cup.

However, they will need to give their best on Saturday and avoid an upset.

For Baroka, their chances of getting promoted to the PSL are slim, but they can still push to have a better season by eliminating the defending champions.