Former Orlando Pirates winger Lebohang ‘Cheeseboy’ Mokoena has shared his thoughts on the Buccaneers’ exit from the CAF Champions League in the semi-final stages.
Pirates crashed out of the semi-final of the Champions League after suffering a 3-2 defeat against Pyramids FC in the return-leg on Friday night in Egypt.
Before the second-leg away from home, the Soweto giants played to a goalless draw against Pyramids at FNB Stadium last weekend.
In Cairo, Pirates scored in the first-half through Relebohile Mofokeng before Fiston Mayele found an equalising goal for the hosts on the stroke of half-time.
Pirates gained the advantage in the second stanza after Mohau Nkota netted the second goal for the SA giants. A few minutes later, the Egyptian Premier League log leaders scored two goals from set-pieces through Mayele and Ramadan Sobhi, walking away with a 3-2 win.
The win over Pirates secured a place for Pyramids in the two-legged final, where they’ll lock horns with Mamelodi Sundowns on the 24th of May, with the return-leg set for the 1st of June.
LEBOGANG MOKOENA NOT HAPPY WITH PIRATES’ DEFENSIVE ORGANISATION AGAINST PYRAMIDS
Ex-Pirates attacker Mokoena has blamed Pirates’ defensive organisation, claiming that the players gave the game away.
“I’m just going to be blunt about this, the players gave it away. It was in our hands, and sometimes God gives you an opportunity once, twice, and the third time it’s just never going to work out,” Mokoena said on Soccer Beat.
“I just felt like we got the goals that we needed because we knew that we were that special when we’re playing away from home. But we know that North Africans are always going to attack with set-pieces. Why couldn’t we deal with that?
“We were leading 2-1, and immediately after that, we conceded. What happened to game management? Why didn’t Sipho Chaine do those time-wasting tactics, because North African Africans do it all the time.
“We needed a leader to calm the nerves down, and I didn’t understand the subs from the coach [Jose Riveiro]. You take out Nkota; he was our only outlet and the quickest player.
“The combination of Tapelo Xoki and [Nkosinathi] Sibisi, the guys were just bunched up, and no one was communicating that he was going for the ball, and they were going for the same ball. We knew that this team would want to score through set-pieces, but we didn’t deal with those situations.”
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