As reported by The South African, Orlando Pirates were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Siwelele FC at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Former Buccaneer Vincent Pule had stunned the home crowd with the opening goal before Tshepang Moremi equalised early in the second half.
Should Mamelodi Sundowns beat Marumo Gallants at the Loftus Versfeld on Tuesday, they will move two points clear at the top of the table.
ORLANDO PIRATES CONTROLLED THE GAME
Despite the result, the Sea Robbers’ Moroccan mentor Ouaddou believes the performance itself was not the problem.
“We did the game we wanted to do,” Ouaddou told SuperSport TV. “We had the control, we played high in the last third of the opponent most of the time, we created so many chances, so the most difficult is to create the chances, which we did.
“I think the opponent used one mistake we had in the beginning and they scored, and after, the rest of the game we were dominant, but it doesn’t mean winning the game. I have nothing to reproach the boys, they had a good game.
The Orlando Pirates tactician admitted they had expected a difficult match against Siwelele and said the visitors deserved credit for their performance, adding that they ultimately took two valuable points from the game.
He noted that everyone could see his players were determined to win, but insisted he was not worried. According to him, if the team continues performing in the same way until the end of the season, many things can still happen, and they must keep believing until the very end.
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THE TEAM NEEDS TO IMPROVE FINISHING
One area where Orlanod Pirates did struggle was turning chances into goals. They finished the match with 14 corners while Siwelele had none.
“You’re right, with the set-pieces and corners we had, the chances, if we want to be more ambitious and believe until the end, we will have to convert these chances,” Ouaddou continued. “But the most difficult thing in football is creating chances, and we just have to keep working, believe and trust our players,” he added.
“They gave everything! I saw them at the end of the game, it’s the first time I see them falling on the field, it means they gave everything, so no reproach to our players, keep working, keep believing, there’s many surprises in football and we cannot give up.
“We will die in every game like it’s a final. Nine more games, many things can happen, we have to keep pushing,” the Orlando Pirates boss concluded.
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