Pirates meet Bloemfontein Celtic at Orlando Stadium in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinals on Saturday night (8.30pm).

Phungwayo said the Buccaneer ship will be cruising at all sails‚ cannons blazing for the competition that now represents their last chance at silverware in 2016-17.

A few factors have seen battling Pirates improve to the point where they have lost just one game under new coach Kjell Jonevret‚ which must make wounded Bucs a dangerous contender for the Nedbank.

One has been a vastly improved structure in their back four. The defensive midfield partnership of Issa Sarr and Abbubaker Mobara have provided an added buffer in front of the defence.

And Jonevret has done something right to finally nurse his key midfielders‚ captain Oupa Manyisa and Mpho Makola‚ back to form in Bucs’ attack.

“The Nedbank is very big‚” Phungwayo said.

“Pirates are all about competing in Africa‚ and the Nedbank can get us there‚ especially since we are not going to be in position one or two in the league.

“So now we are gunning everything to reach the final.”

He said Bucs have been relieved to see Manyisa and Makola find a semblance of form.

“We were talking about it recently that it’s a team sport but if three players that we usually rely on are not on form‚ then of course the team as a whole is a disaster‚” Bucs’ left-back said.

“So if Oupa and Mpho Makola are getting their form back it benefits the team. It gives us confidence also.

“You can imagine as a full-back‚ if your midfielders are not on form it’s very hard to have the confidence to go.

“Now with them on form you have the confidence to go.

“So things are getting back. Yes‚ it’s late. But we just want to be part of the top eight and of course to win the Nedbank.”

One of the changes made by Jonevret in his back four has been that his full-backs‚ Phungwayo and Thabo Matlaba‚ are more circumspect about when to go forward.

“It’s the system. But of course‚ now with Issa and Mobara in defensive midfield it can also give us more freedom to go‚” Phungwayo explained.

Celtic will continue with caretaker-coaches Lehlohonolo Seema and John Maduka on their bench after the blow of Luc Eymael being ordered back to previous club Polokwane City this week by the PSL’s dispute resolution committee.

Celtic and Eymael are considering an appeal.

– TMG Digital/TMG Sport

Reuters | 2017-04-18 23:32:57.0

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with teammates after scoring their third goal to complete his hat trick.
Image by: Sergio Perez / REUTERS

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to send Real Madrid through to the Champions League semi-finals with a 4-2 extra-time win against 10-man Bayern Munich to seal a 6-3 aggregate victory in controversial circumstances.

Telford Vice | 2017-04-16 14:16:46.0

Mens winners (L-R) Warinyane Lebopo, Lungile Gongqa and Teboho Sello during the 2017 Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon 56km awards ceremony on April 15, 2017 in Cape Town,
Image by: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images

Like 9 867 other South Africans‚ 351 from 20 other African countries‚ 225 Germans‚ 189 from the United Kingdom‚ 107 Netherlanders‚ 86 Americans‚ and one each from Spain‚ Norway‚ Argentina‚ Slovakia‚ Turkey‚ Lithuania‚ Luxembourg‚ Syria‚ Belarus‚ Bulgaria‚ Honduras‚ Thailand and Vietnam‚ Lungile Gongqa entered Saturday’s Two Oceans ultra-marathon.

SuperSport were left scurrying around like the Easter Bunny as Sundowns ran riot, reminding those who had dared to start writing them off that they still have plenty in the tank going into their final 10 matches of the Absa Premiership season.

They could even afford two horror misses at the start of the game from Percy Tau as they romped into a 4-0 half-time lead and then added one more in the second half.

The first indication of the carnage to come was evident after just four minutes as Hlompho Kekana played a sumptuous through ball to Tau, left with just the goalkeeper to beat but who hesitated and allowed Reyaad Pieterse to make a god save.

One minute later, Tau was through again with just the goalkeeper to beat but his shot hit Pieterse on the shoulder and sailed wide for a corner.

It left the young Sundowns striker looking bewildered and immediately reviving questions about the team’s ability in front of goal.

But that was quickly dispelled. After seven minutes Tau, this time electing to pass rather than shoot, saw his cross hit the knee of Clayton Daniels, and loop over Pieterse for the first goal of the game.

Daniels stuck out his foot to deflect a Kekana shot in the 14th minute and was fortunate to see it go wide when it could just as easily gone into the net for a second own goal of the night.

But four minutes later the lead doubled as Langerman’s shot from wide was blocked by Morgan Gould, only to sit up perfectly for Themba Zwane to tap in easily from close range.

With 26 minutes gone it was 3-0 as Khama Billiat stumbled initially in a good position but then had the presence of mind to back heel for Mzikayise Mashaba to net his first goal of the season from a tight angle.

Billiat, now fully recovered from injury, then got one himself just before half-time with a rasping shot from outside the area that eluded Pieterse and went in off the post.

Langerman’s run down the left hand side set up the fifth goal in the second half, with a textbook pull back that Billiat elegantly tucked away.

Two sides meet on Wednesday in the league again in Atteridgeville where SuperSport will have their last chance to keep themselves in the title race but have now gone 11 derbies in a row against their neighbours without success.

In other PSL results, Platinum Stars lost 2-4 to Cape Town City at Moruleng Stadium, Rustenburg.

– TMG Digital

The response to April 11 has become increasingly muted with each passing year and the families of the 43 fans who lost their lives in a stampede triggered by huge crowds at a league match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at Ellis Park Stadium in 2001 would be forgiven if the day leaves them with a bitter taste in the month.

Former Premier Soccer League (PSL) CEO Robin Petersen‚ who was the League’s boss at the time of the tragedy‚ told Times Media Digital on Tuesday that the disaster remains one of the lowest points of his professional career.

‘‘For five years every year we did a commemoration but then the two clubs took the decision (not to continue the annual commemorations)‚” he said.

‘‘At that stage I was no longer part of the football structures. The decision was they would not continue the annual commemorations.

‘‘I am not sure what the reasons were but I was not part of that decision.”

Chiefs players and technical team held a moment of silence after their training session on Tuesday morning.

“It is one of the saddest days in South African football‚” said Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung.

“It is a fateful day where supporters lost their lives for the love of soccer and their favourite teams.”

Petersen‚ who is now the South African Football Association (Safa) Development Agency chief executive‚ said a lot more can be done to remember the day.

‘‘You can never do enough. You can never do enough. Whenever I go Ellis Park I always go to the corner and there is a memorial plague and I always say my quite respects. One can never do enough. But one can never do enough.”

Looking back to that fateful day 16 years ago‚ Petersen said the memories will forever be etched in his memory.

‘‘What I remember about the day is that it was probably the most shocking day of my life‚” he said.

‘‘It started off incredibly well. We had a board of governor’s meeting at Sunnyside Park Hotel and we had arranged a suite for all the board members.

‘‘It was a very positive meeting and we had a lot of plans for the progress of the league.

‘‘I left to go to the stadium and I was very surprised that it took over an hour and a half from the Sunnyside Park Hotel to Ellis Park.

‘‘And then I got there and saw the complete chaos outside and it was then that I recognised that something bad was happening.

‘‘I went around trying to sort things outside. When I got in it was already 20 minutes into the games and two goals had already been scored. (The score was 1-1)”

Petersen was told there was trouble in the corner inside the stadium and he went to investigate.

‘‘I went down to the field and saw people behind the poles who were already dead‚” he said.

‘‘The game was still continuing so I ran to the touchline and told the referee we had to stop the game. I ran onto the field and stopped the game.

‘‘Then we had to deal with the reality of what had just happened.”

“Such events always refresh our humility before the Almighty‚ whose ever presence carries us through the good and the dark days‚” said Motaung.

‘This indeed was one of the darkest days and we will never ever forget that.”

 — TMG Digital/TMG Sport