Ouaddou welcomes Carling Knockout draw against ‘tough’ Milford

The round of 16 draw was conducted at the Langhams Lifestyle Estate in Johannesburg on Wednesday night. Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has welcomed the Carling Knockout draw against Milford FC. The round of 16 draw was conducted at the Langhams Lifestyle Estate in Johannesburg on Wednesday night. Reacting to the draw, Ouaddou said he was pleased Pirates will play their opening game of the competition at home at the Orlando Amstel Arena. “Look, before I speak about defending the title, I would like to thank the organisers (of the Carling Knockout). It’s always a pleasure and a fantastic competition to play,” said Ouaddou. “I really like the innovation of creating the bridge between fans and the clubs. I think it’s really a good idea. About the game, I think the advantage and the positive is to play at home.” Having hosted the same side in their league season opener back in August, where they beat them 2-0, Ouaddou is expecting a tough clash against the Stallions. “Playing in front of our fans is an advantage, but it will be a difficult game. If you remember when we played Milford in the first game of the season, I said that not many teams are going to beat them. “I think they have a lot of confidence. It’s a well-coached team, disciplined and well organised, and they can run as well. So, it will not be an easy game,” commented Ouaddou. Xanti warns Pirates Milford FC coach Xanti Pupuma agreed with Ouaddou that his side has grown in confidence since their last encounter against Pirates. He warned the Buccaneers that his team will give them a run for their money. “Hopefully we’ve learned our lessons from the previous game, and fortunately for us, we will have a ripple effect. Already in the first game, we had a few players out, so we had to adjust a few things. “I’m not saying it would have made a difference, but now we’re going into this game full force. We have adjusted to the division, and I think we are in a better space than we were in the first game. So, hopefully, we give them a run for their money,” commented Pupuma. The opening round of the Carling Knockout is scheduled to begin the weekend of 24 October. The actual match dates and kick-off times will be confirmed by the Premier Soccer League at a later stage.