Orlando Pirates defender Tapelo Xoki has explained the MTN8 semi-final clash against Mamelodi Sundowns as the test to see how far they can go.
The 27-year-old joined Pirates at the beginning of the campaign from AmaZulu FC in the hope of winning major titles. Xoki is yet to make an MTN8 debut in the colours of Buccaneers as he was on the bench during the quarterfinals against Royal AM.
“It will be a good test for us to see how far we can go. We know they are the current defending champions. We know we want to go all the way,” Xoki told the media during the media conference yesterday. Xoki told the journalists.
“And to do that, we need to beat everyone in front of us. It is not different if it was another opponent, but we have to face the defending champions and give them the respect they deserve.
“But going to the game knowing that we want to win and go all the way.”
“We have to appreciate Shalulile’s qualities. He has done well for his club. He scored goals for his team, but he doesn’t do it alone – other players give him the supply,” he said.
“That’s why we have to make sure that we starve the supply to him as much as we can. So, we have to deal with all the other guys because it is not only him who can hurt you.
“There are so many guys who can hurt you in their team, but the tactic is for the coach to sort it out during the week and we have to make sure we follow what we have to do on the day.
“We have to focus on that as a collective, not solely on him. We played against him for so many games and we know what kind of a player he is.”
