Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says the lack of a clinical edge upfront came back to haunt them as they were eliminated from the Nedbank Cup by Casric Stars FC on Saturday.
Following a goalless draw after extra time, Pirates were beaten 5-4 on penalty shootouts by the Motsepe Foundation Championship outfit. It was a brave outing by Casric Stars who defied an intimidating atmosphere created by a biased Buccaneers crowd at the Orlando Amstel Arena.
The Mpumalanga side worked an extra shift in defence to frustrate the Soweto giants, who attacked more. With Evidence Makgopa injured, Ouaddou started Andre de Jong in an unusual number nine role.
But the New Zealander struggled to impose himself in front of goal. Even the introduction of Yanela Mbuthuma and Daniel Msendami could not give the Buccaneers some needed bite upfront.
Before the Casric Stars game, Ouaddou complained about some poor finishing despite beating Marumo Gallants 3-0 in the Betway Premiership match. They were then undone by the wastefulness against Mamelodi Sundowns in midweek, before the same problems cost them a Nedbank Cup quarter-final spot.
‘A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT’ FOR OUADDOU AS PIRATES STRIKERS WORSEN CONCERNS
“It’s a very disappointing result just after the Sundowns result. In football, especially Cup games, any team can challenge you in one game in terms of team spirit,” said Ouaddou.
“Congratulations to Casric Stars, they played the game they wanted, they waited for us, they gave us the ball. We found some opportunities in the first half [but] unfortunately, we didn’t score.
“After you give motivation to these kinds of teams, in the second half as well, we created some chances but didn’t score. It’s a Cup match, for us we’ll analyse and have to bounce back quickly because it will be very important. But congratulations to the players, the coach of Casric Stars and the club.
“We tried to see some shape with Andre with the first line to try to create and adapt and not give reference to the defence and to bring some speed on the side with Rele [Mofokeng] and [Tshepang] Moremi. I think we managed to get into the last third and create chances, as I told you.
‘Unfortunately, we didn’t finish them. We tried in the second half to bring in some creativity again. Maybe we can say it was a bit late, but it’s a big disappoitment but we have to bounce back quickly.”
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