Orlando Pirates, just a name? ‘They misinterpreted my statement’

Durban City captain Siphamandla Ncanana insists the sentiments made about Orlando Pirates were blown out of proportion.

A couple of days ago, the defender stated the Nedbank Cup champions are ready for the Sea Robbers test in the MTN8 quarter-final. He stated that ‘Soweto giants’Orlando Pirates is just a name’, meaning they were ready to give everything to get a win.

Nevertheless, the sentiments made invited reactions from the Sea Robbers faithful, with legends insisting it was disrespectful.

Ncanana has since explained what he meant, insisting the interpretation by the majority in the South African football fraternity is wrong.

All I can say is…

“What I can say is maybe they misinterpreted my statement. It’s not that I was being disrespectful or that I have something against Pirates, no. We all know Pirates are a big club in South African football,” he told the media.

“What I was saying is that once the referee blows the kick-off whistle, it’s 11 v 11. It’s no longer about Pirates or [Durban City]. I wasn’t being disrespectful, but I was saying we have to be strong against them.

“As a team, we are more than ready to face Pirates. The preparations have gone really well, and playing the defending champions is more like a motivation for us,” said Ncanana.

“We need to put everything into the game and play our A game, and we will see what result we get on Saturday. It’s going to be a tough match because they also want to win. Even last season, it was a matter of us needing a point to maintain our Top 8 spot,” Ncanana concluded.