Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says their Nedbank Cup last-16 exit to Casric Stars is a disappointment to the players and fans.
Pirates were stunned at the Orlando Amstel Arena by the second-tier side, who beat them 5-4 on penalties in sudden death, with the match finishing 0-0 after 120 minutes.
It follows the surprise exit of Mamelodi Sundowns earlier in the day, with the traditional big three now all out of the competition ahead of before the quarter-finals.
“It’s a big disappointment tonight to [be eliminated] from the competition, something that was important for the players and the fans,” Ouaddou said.
“We wanted to suffocate them quickly in the first half and create chances, unfortunately, it’s been the same story as the previous game, it’s important to be efficient, especially in the cups.
“When you miss such chances, like the first half, you can give confidence to the opponent and I think they defended well, did their job – we tried to bring more in the second half, creativity, to imbalance Casric, we created some chances…
“For me, we could have finished the game earlier, but then it comes the penalties, which we worked on and prepared for in the week as it was a probability, but it’s like that, we lost and congratulations to Casric Stars FC, their players and technical staff.”