Kaizer Chiefs determined to hand Pirates title blow? Brandon Petersen responds

Africa 24 April 2026 at 08:23

Hlayisani Magoro

News Editor

26.04.26 FT South African Betway Premiership

Orlando Pirates

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Kaizer Chiefs

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Kaizer Chiefs captain and goalkeeper Brandon Petersen has responded to whether his team is hell-bent on ending Orlando Pirates' Betway Premiership title hopes.

The fierce rivals will lock horns at the FNB Stadium in the famed Soweto derby, with bragging rights and crucial maximum points at stake in the highly anticipated fixture.

Pirates head into the match sitting one point clear at the top of the table, having picked up 58 points in 25 games, albeit played one match more than Mamelodi Sundowns.

Abdeslam Ouaddou and his troops know that anything less than a win in the derby could prove precarious in the battle for supremacy against the rampant Brazilians.

Petersen, however, has dismissed claims that Chiefs see the encounter as a rare opportunity to dash their rivals' hopes of clinching the elusive league title.

“We're not seeing this game as an opportunity for us to do a title blow or anything like that. This game is important for us because of our race and what we want to achieve, what we want to do as a group,” said the Chiefs captain.

"And that's finishing as high as possible on the table with the maximum amount of points we can get. So, for us going into this game it's to go out and win the game but for reasons that we want, not for title blows or anything like that.

"We have our own race to run, we have our focus and we need to focus on our focus and control what we can control, so we'll be ready come the game and whatever we want to achieve will be for us as a group and what we want to achieve going forward.

Chiefs will be eager to register a first win against Pirates in the league since February 2023, having lost the previous five meetings between the two sides.

Related teams and leagues

Orlando Pirates

Kaizer Chiefs

South African Betway Premiership