Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila coach Vhutali Nelukau has painted a picture of what it was like facing Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup Round of 32 at the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.
The Limpopo outfit was beaten 4-1 on an afternoon that started promisingly; they even threatened a comeback after pulling a goal back to make it 2-1 going into halftime. But Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou unleashed impact substitutes Patrick Maswanganyi and Sipho Mbule to kill the match as a contest in the second half.
What had initially appeared to be a valiant display by the ABC Motsepe League side turned into a heavy defeat in the end. With the scales already tipped in Pirates’ favour due to the contrasting competitive levels between the two sides, Nelukau opted to hand opportunities to his young players.
Notably, the TTM coach fielded 16-year-old Peter Sebadi in the first half, but the more experienced Buccaneers neutralised the teenager’s flashes of brilliance.
Nelukau used an analogy suggesting they were on an impossible mission, remarking that they were lured by a crocodile into its own domain.
NELUKAU REVEALS THEY PREFERRED TO PLAY PIRATES IN POLOKWANE, BUT IT WAS OUT OF THEIR HANDS
“You saw me standing for the entire 90 minutes; my boys couldn’t relax. I’m happy with the performance against the best,” Nelukau said.
“Mind you, we were following the crocodile into the river to fight it in its own domain. It was not easy at all. But remember, I used nine or ten young players who are Under-23. I’m happy to give them these chances, and there are still many more who weren’t in the team today [Saturday].
“It’s a good experience for them. It was tough, but it’s the biggest lesson for these players. That’s why I say we were following the crocodile to the river. It was not our choice; there was nothing we could do about the situation. If it were our stadium, it wouldn’t have been like this, to be honest.
“It was a Nedbank Cup decision because we were supposed to play in Polokwane. The problem with Thohoyandou Stadium was the heavy rain. We tried to go to Polokwane, but there was another Nedbank Cup game already scheduled there.”
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