Orlando Pirates captain Nkosinathi Sibisi downplays Mamelodi Sundowns 'title decider' label

As anticipation builds for Wednesday’s heavyweight clash at FNB Stadium, Orlando Pirates (kick-off 7.30pm) captain Nkosinathi Sibisi has struck a calm, measured tone, refusing to frame the meeting with Mamelodi Sundowns as a season-defining moment.

With Pirates leading the table and Sundowns in close pursuit, the fixture has been billed as a potential title decider. Sibisi, however, sees it differently — as one chapter in a much longer story.

“On Wednesday, all will not be lost and all will not be won,” the defender said, on Monday at the Rand Stadium. “For us it’s another game of football, it’s another 90 minutes. After that there’ll be 12/13 more games to go.”

That perspective has become central to Pirates’ approach this season. 

Rather than peaking emotionally for one opponent, Sibisi insists the Buccaneers’ progress has been built on week-to-week consistency, not isolated statements.

“It’s not only us and Sundowns but there’s other teams as well that are behind us that could still catch up,” he added. “So, we just have to take the game as it comes.”

It is a maturity forged through hard lessons. In recent campaigns, Pirates often stumbled not in marquee fixtures, but in games they were expected to control. Sibisi acknowledged that reality, identifying it as a turning point in how the squad now views the league.

“In recent seasons we struggled when we played the so-called smaller team and I think that’s where it matters the most,” he said. “You only get to play the so-called big guns only twice.”

That realisation has reshaped Pirates’ mindset. The captain believes the league has evolved to a point where reputations count for little once the whistle blows, and that complacency is punished more harshly than ever.

“The longer I’ve played in this league I’ve realised there’s no longer smaller teams,” Sibisi explained. “So, it’s a difficult game every week and that means we have to keep our level every week and push for the best performances.”

Against that backdrop, the Sundowns fixture becomes less about fear or fixation, and more about discipline. 

The focus, Sibisi insists, is on executing familiar principles under familiar pressure. Playing at FNB Stadium, in front of a vast Soweto crowd, will add spectacle — but not anxiety. 

Pirates have learned that titles are not won in moments of noise, but in the quiet consistency of grinding out results across a demanding calendar. For Sibisi and his teammates, Wednesday is important — but not defining. 

The real test lies in what follows, and whether Pirates can continue to show the composure of a team that understands the marathon, not just the sprint.

* Smiso Msomi is Independent Media's senior football reporter and host of the Monday Review on our YouTube channel The Clutch