Why Orlando Pirates game will be a reunion for new Kaizer Chiefs coach Hunt

Newly-appointed Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt won’t need to do much opposition analysis for his side’s MTN8 semi-final match-up with Orlando Pirates.

Hunt helped inspire his new team to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Maritzburg United in an MTN8 quarter-final clash at the FNB Stadium on Sunday.

Pirates meanwhile did just enough to edge out Cape Town City 1-0 at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday evening.

And when it came to the draw for the semi-finals, the two Soweto giants were paired together, while Bloemfontein Celtic will take on SuperSport United in the other two-legged semi-final.

Hunt will no doubt be relishing the chance to lay down an early marker and write his name into Amakhosi folklore by beating Pirates and hopefully, in his view, then going on to win the final and end the club’s five-year wait for a trophy.

The first leg of the semi-final will take place in the last weekend of October, followed by the second leg in the first weekend of November.

And it would not have escaped Hunt’s attention that in Pirates’ starting line-up on Saturday there were six players whom he helped develop at previous club Bidvest Wits: Thulani Hlatshwayo, Deon Hotto, Gabadinho Mhango, Ben Motshwari, Terrence Dzvukamanja and Vincent Pule.

Dzvukamanja, who was rumoured to be on Hunt’s own wish-list at Chiefs, scored an excellent headed goal on debut, while Mhango was joint top scorer in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) last season. Hlatshwayo is, of course, the Bafana Bafana captain while Hotto was outstanding for Wits last season and Motshwari and Pule have both become integral parts of the Bucs setup.

There will surely be a degree of envy from Hunt as he gazes on at a Pirates side which in a way he helped build. Even more so when taken into account that the former Moroka Swallows and SuperSport United coach is unable to sign new players due to the Glamour Boys’ pending transfer ban.

Pirates’ reliance on former Clever Boys players will certainly add some spice to the derby and Hunt will no doubt be trying to use his intimate knowledge of Bucs’ players to plot Amakhosi’s path into the final as he attempts to help his new club end a five-year trophy wait.