Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou was not an entirely satisfied man even after witnessing the Buccaneers advance to the Carling Knockout semi-finals.
The Soweto giants recorded a slim 2-1 victory over Magesi FC at Orlando Stadium to stay in contention for winning their second major silverware in 2025.
Straight from the disappointment of CAF Champions League exit, the Buccaneers picked themselves up by edging a stubborn Magesi.
It was a frustrating evening for Pirates as Dikwena tsa Meetsi goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze was unrelenting in goal and almost spoiled the hosts’ evening. But in the end, Ouaddou’s men managed to breach the Zimbabwean custodian to secure passage into the last four of the beer cup.
WHERE DO PIRATES NEED TO GET BETTER?
“I think it’s a game that at halftime you should lead with maybe three or four goals. Unfortunately, it’s an area that we need to improve quickly if we want to be ambitious,” said Ouaddou.
“Other than that, I want to congratulate the boys, it was not an easy game. All the time it’s difficult against these kind of teams, they are fighting, they have a very big fighting spirit. We played some nice football as well, I think our fans were very happy about that.
“Now, if you want to be more ambitious, I have to say I was not very happy with the last 15 minutes. Instead of going forward and score the third goal, I think we made some short passes. I know the fans like that, players like that, but for me I don’t like that.
“I need to score more goals and we need to be more clinical, it’s very important for the confidence to score goals.”
Pirates conceded deep into stoppage time, sparking hopes, in Magesi, of a successful comeback, but it was too late for the visitors from Limpopo.
“It’s a target as well to keep a clean sheet. The target was to keep going, not to concede a goal at home, but unfortunately, we had lack of focus and we cionceded this goal.
“We said we have to be careful in the set pieces because it’s a strength of that team. But let’s be happy, let’s go with this victory.”
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