Cape Town Spurs midfielder Keagan Buchanan has revealed his side were given some extra motivation to win their first points of the season.
After eight successive DStv Premiership losses, goals from Lubeni Haukongo (3′) and Jarrod Moroole (36′) secured a 2-1 win over Orlando Pirates at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday.
The result lifted Spurs onto three points in 16th place, but just six points adrift of Bucs, in 13th place with nine points.
Speaking after the game, Buchanan, who was named Man of the Match for his performance, explained that a newspaper article suggesting this tie was merely a “warm-up” game for Pirates’ Carling Black Label Cup quarter-final clash Richards Bay, added some extra spice to Spurs’ play.
He said on SuperSport: “It was a matter of applying ourselves.
“First and foremeost we had to give them (Pirates) respect, they are a quality team, but we also had to show them we were not intimidated.
“A newspaper article said this was just a warm up game for Pirates, and the coach put the article up in the dressing room and said ‘is this what you want?’ We needed to show we belong in this league, it is not nice to come in and lose eight games. We need to show we can not just survive, but that we can play football (too).”
Buchanan added that he hopes Spurs can build on this victory.
He said: “It is a massive win. A big step forward. Credit to the boys and the ownership for staying positive. This is a reward for all the hard work in every training session.
“We have been reminding the young boys (in the squad) that we can turn it around. This (Pirates) is a quality, well coached team, there is nothing better than kickstarting the season with a victory over a big team like Pirates.”