Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has explained the substitution of talented midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi in the first-half of the MTN8 semi-final tie against Mamelodi Sundowns at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Atteridgeville.
The match ended 1-1 in regulation time on Saturday afternoon, with the teams tied 2-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in the first leg last Saturday in Soweto. The Sea Robbers ultimately defeated Sundowns 4-1 in a penalty shootout.
Sundowns opened the scoring in the first stanza through a strike from Iqraam Rayners. But Pirates found the equaliser in the second-half of the match through a goal from the in-form utility star Kamogelo Sebelebele. The latter walked away with the Man of the Match award.
After the two teams could not be separated in the 90 minutes, the tightly contested match went into penalties. During the penalty shootout, Pirates goalkeeper Sipho Chaine was the hero after saving three penalties to help his team secure a spot in the final.
The Ghosts have made it to the final for the fourth season in a row after winning the MTN8 for three successive years.
WHAT OUADDOU SAID ABOUT MASWANGANYI’S EARLY SUB
In what was a talking point of the match, Pirates coach Ouaddou substituted Maswanganyi in the 38th minute. The Bafana Bafana international was replaced by Bandile Shandu.
After bringing in Shandu, Pirates pushed Sebelebele to the right wing position after initially starting the match at right-back.
The Moroccan coach explained that Tito was substituted because the technical team determined that he wasn’t performing well.
“You know I have been a player for 17 years at the high level,” said Ouaddou on SuperSport TV. “It can happen that sometimes you are not in the game, at your best.
“It doesn’t mean that you are a bad player. Tito is a good player, and I believe in him. He has been very important for the club for many years. So today [Saturday] was not his day. I’m sure he will help us in the future,” added the Bucs coach
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