“Any knockout competition is difficult,” said Augusto Palacios, Pirates' Youth Development Technical Director. “Although the players are confident, all it takes is one defeat and you could be out of things.

“There will be a lot more pressure on us this year because of the fact that we are defending champions. In any competition, teams tend to lift their game and have added motivation if they come up against the holders of a title.”

Palacios says the fact that his side played in the Gothia Cup, where they lost 1-0 in the final, has prepared them perfectly for the rigours of knockout football.

“The guys looked good in the Gothia Cup and I hope they take that form into this event,” he said. “The one advantage we have is the fact that, because we believe in blooding guys when they are very young, we have five or six players in our current squad who also played in last year’s SuperSport Cup. But it is at a different venue (last year’s tournament was held at the Orlando Stadium) so some of our advantage is nullified.”

Palacios admits that Pirates will face a tough task in getting through their group, dubbed the “Group of Death” after the draw. The other three teams in the group are Jomo Cosmos, Mamelodi Sundowns and Benoni United.

“It is a tough group,” he said. “Cosmos and Sundowns will field strong sides, and Benoni are a bit of an unknown quantity. But if you are going to win a tournament, it is right that you beat the best on your way to the title.”

	A						B
	Silver Stars						School of Excellence
	Ajax						Dynamos
	SuperSport FYA						Bloem Celtic
	Soweto Select						Maritzburg Classic
	C						D
	Benoni						Wits
	Jomo Cosmos						Moroka Swallows
	Orlando Pirates						Santos
	Sundowns						Kaizer Chiefs
Day 1						Day 1
Field 1						Field 2
Kickoff	Team A		Team B	Match		Kickoff	Team A		Team B	Match
8:00	SuperSport FYA	V	Ajax	1		8:00	Maritzburg Classic	V	Dynamos	2
9:15	Benoni	V	Orlando Pirates	3		9:15	Sundowns	V	Jomo Cosmos	4
10:30	Silver Stars	V	Soweto Select	5		10:30	Bloem Celtic	V	School of Excellence	6
11:45	Kaizer Chiefs	V	Wits	7		11:45	Santos	V	Moroka Swallows	8
13:00	Maritzburg Classic	V	School of Excellence	9		13:00	Soweto Select	V	Ajax	10
14:15	Sundowns	V	Orlando Pirates	11		14:15	Benoni	V	Jomo Cosmos	12
15:30	Dynamos	V	Bloem Celtic	13		15:30	Silver Stars	V	SuperSport FYA	14
16:45	Moroka Swallows	V	Kaizer Chiefs	15		16:45	Wits	V	Santos	16
Day 2						Day 2
Field 1						Field 2
Kickoff	Team A		Team B	Match		Kickoff	Team A		Team B	Match
8:00	Santos	V	Kaizer Chiefs	17		8:00	Wits	V	Moroka Swallows	18
9:15	School of Excellence	V	Dynamos	19		9:15	Bloem Celtic	V	Maritzburg Classic	20
10:30	Ajax	V	Silver Stars	21		10:30	SuperSport FYA	V	Soweto Select	22
11:45	Jomo Cosmos	V	Orlando Pirates	23		11:45	Sundowns	V	Benoni	24
13:00	3 Pool C	V	3 Pool D	25		13:00	3 Pool A	V	3 Pool B	26
14:15	4 Pool B	V	4 Pool A	27		14:15	4 Pool C	V	4 Pool D	28
Day 3						Day 3
Field 1						Field 2
Kickoff	Team A		Team B	Match		Kickoff	Team A		Team B	Match
9:00	L 25	V	L 28	29		8:00	L 26	V	L 27	30
10:15	W 25	V	W 28	31		9:15	W 27	V	W 26	32
11:30	Rest		Rest			10:30	Rest		Rest
12:45	L29	V	L30	33		11:45	L31	V	L32	34
14:00	W29	V	W 30	35		13:00	W 31	V	W32	36
15:15	1 Pool A	V	2 Pool B	37		14:15	1 Pool C	V	2 Pool D	38
16:30	1 Pool B	V	2 Pool A	39		15:30	1 Pool D	V	2 Pool C	40
Day 4
Field 1
Kickoff	Team A		Team B	Match
8:00	L 37	V	L 40	41
9:05	L 39	V	L 38	42
10:10	W 37	V	W 40	43
11:25	W 39	V	W 38	44
12:40	L 41	V	L 42	45	7 & 8
13:45	W 41	V	W 42	46	5 & 6
14:50	L 43	V	L 44	47	3 & 4
16:05	W 43	V	W 44	48	1 & 2
17:10	Prize Giving