Innocent Maela: Orlando Pirates are on track to catching Mamelodi Sundowns

Sundowns' dominance in the Premier Soccer League makes them the envy of every team on the local scene, having won the league championship on a record six consecutive occasions.

The Buccaneers, meanwhile, have long been considered the closest to The Brazilians, and Maela feels with Jose Riveiro at the wheel, they are well on their way to narrowing that gap.

"I mean look, it is no secret that they've had enormous success. They've done things right, and their process finally is paying off on their side but I mean look, we know what we have to do in order to surpass that level. I think we are in the right direction, we are heading in that way," Maela said.

With Wednesday evening's encounter at Orlando Stadium currently the talk of the town, the Bafana Bafana defender is adamant Pirates are no underdogs coming into this tie.

"Playing against them is always exciting. We know that we are more than capable of beating anyone in this league. As much as you say we are playing against a good team, a decent team I think they know where they are that they are also playing a very, very strong team. A confident team, a team that plays with aggression. A team that plays with fluidity. A team that is enjoyable to watch," he added.

Maela has also promised fans a spectacle worth their time and money on a mid-week evening.

Pirates have not tasted success over Sundowns in their previous seven league meetings, dating back to January 2020, but the 31-year-old stresses that historic results have little bearing on the upcoming tie.

"I mean look from the players' perspective we know that we are playing against a decent team. A good team, you can't run away from that but we believe in ourselves. We know how to approach these kinds of matches.

We have a plan and for us, it's to go out there and make sure that we execute the plan to the best of our abilities but we don't go into such matches and think about what happened in the past. We put all our energies on the next match and make sure that we go out there and we do well."

Catch the game live on S3, Sabc+ and www.sabcsport.com on Wednesday 20 September 2023.