Orlando Pirates News Today: Ouaddou sends warning to strikers, AmaZulu eye Bucs’ scalp & more

Orlando Pirates news, as head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou demands his forwards sharpen up ahead of a pivotal campaign, while AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane vows his side will seek redemption when the two teams meet in Durban on Wednesday.

Ouaddou delivers blunt warning to misfiring strikers

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has issued a stark warning to his attacking players, declaring that he needs them to raise their game quickly despite the Buccaneers making a winning start to the 2026/27 season.

Pirates have secured back-to-back victories, opening with a 2-0 Betway Premiership win over Milford FC before edging past Durban City 2-1 in extra time in the MTN8 quarter-finals on Saturday. But while the results have been positive, Ouaddou has been left frustrated by his side’s inability to convert the chances they are creating.

“On one hand, I’m happy because we are creating chances,” Ouaddou said as quoted by GOAL. “Last season we were the team in Africa creating the most chances.”

“But my frustration, of course, you can imagine that if we can convert 70 percent of these chances, it will just be fantastic. So, we are working on that,” he added.

“Don’t think that we are not doing anything about working on that. We have a lot of work with our players, especially offensive players. I’ve told you the reality: sometimes you can work, but you need talent.”

Wounded AmaZulu seek redemption against Pirates

AmaZulu head coach Arthur Zwane has set his sights on bouncing back from a painful MTN8 exit by targeting all three points when his side host Orlando Pirates at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Usuthu were eliminated from the MTN8 in dramatic fashion over the weekend, losing 4-3 after extra time in a seven-goal thriller against Sekhukhune United at Chatsworth Stadium.

Zwane’s men led twice through a Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya brace and a Taariq Fielies strike, only for defensive lapses to let Sekhukhune back into the contest each time. Vuyo Letlapa scored the decisive goal for Babina Noko early in extra time.

“Now we have Pirates, we’ve got to redeem ourselves,” Zwane said as per KickOff. “It’s not going to be an easy one, and we’re playing against a Pirates team that won at the weekend,” he added.

“So we’ve got to make sure that now the players do the right things in terms of recovery, and they eat well and drink a lot of water, so that they can be fully recovered when the time comes.”

Pirates have dominated this fixture in recent times, winning both league meetings last season without conceding — 2-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium and 3-0 at Orlando Amstel Arena — and AmaZulu have not beaten the Buccaneers in the league since the 2020/21 campaign.