Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has reacted to his side suffering a 2-1 defeat to title rivals Mamelodi Sundowns at FNB Stadium on Wednesday.
Masandawana ended Pirates’ 11-match winning streak at home, thanks to a first-half brace by Brayan Leon, while Pirates’ deflected shot by Patrick Maswanganyi wasn’t enough.
As a consequence, Sundowns are now back to within three points of the log leaders, with a game in hand, with Ouaddou insisting it was a game of two halves, but the title race is still wide open.
“I think we have [a game of] two halves. One where we wanted to be compact and to play in the transition – I think it worked because we had a lot of the ball and we created the most effective chances.
“Unfortunately we were not efficient in the first half. On the other hand, Mamelodi Sundowns had a few chances and they were more efficient than us.
“It’s very hard to come into half-time with 2-0, but I think the boys did well in the second half. We managed to score early. We pushed, we pushed but we didn’t manage to score the second goal.
“I can say that Mamelodi Sundowns had the first half, Pirates had the second half but without scoring the second goal, so we are a bit disappointed.
“We still have games, nothing is lost but we have to play till the end.”
Both teams will now change their focus to the Nedbank Cup before Pirates return to FNB Stadium for the upcoming Soweto Derby against Kaizer Chiefs on 28 February.