Sekhukhune United coach Papi Zothwane has explained why overcoming Orlando Pirates remains such a formidable task following his side’s exit from the Carling Knockout Cup.
Babina Noko suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to the Buccaneers in their quarter-final clash at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday afternoon.
A solitary first-half strike from winger Mpho Padime—who was named Man of the Match and walked away with the R100,000 prize—was enough to send the defending champions through to the last four, where they will face Stellenbosch FC.
The defeat condemned the Limpopo-based outfit to a fourth consecutive loss against the Sea Robbers this season, after falling short in both legs of the MTN8 semi-finals and their Betway Premiership encounter.
Addressing their recurring struggles against the Soweto giants, Zothwane admitted that competing toe-to-toe with Pirates is always a high-wire act due to the depth of individual talent at Abdeslam Ouaddou’s disposal.
‘YOU CAN’T BE NAIVE AGAINST PIRATES’ – ZOTHWANE
Speaking after their elimination, Zothwane pointed to Pirates’ offensive firepower while questioning whether his players showed the Buccaneers too much respect.
“In my opinion, Pirates have immense quality, and as a coach, you know it’s always difficult to go pound-for-pound with them,” Zothwane said.
“You have to approach them fully aware of their strengths because they are lethal offensively. You can’t be naive—if you go with a high press against Pirates and leave spaces, they will punish you. You always have to remain cautious.
“But it also comes down to the mindset of the players. When they face Pirates, do they respect the opposition more than they trust themselves? I always tell my players that we can’t spend all our time preaching about the threat of Pirates without focusing on our own game plan and showing our own talent.”
OVERCOMING THE ANXIETY FACTOR AT ORLANDO AMSTEL ARENA
Zothwane, who took over the Babina Noko hot seat in September following the departure of Cedric Kaze, believes stage fright played a major role in their latest setback.
“Sometimes players overthink the occasion and anxiety takes its toll. But ultimately, it depends on the execution of the plan from both the technical team and the players,” he added.
“Pirates are a top-quality side, but I believe we have players who can go pound-for-pound with them, compete, and win matches. It’s just unfortunate that whenever we come to Orlando, getting a result proves so difficult.”
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