Challenged by Sipho Sibiya of Kruger United during the Betway Premiership, Orlando Pirates striker Yanela Mbuthuma scored two goals on the night leaving his coach Abdeslam Ouaddou confident about their Caf Champions Legue start.
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Orlando Pirates may not yet be running like a well-oiled machine, but coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has been pleased with his team’s efficiency, saying it will be pivotal in their bid to qualify for the CAF Champions League group stage.
Pirates will begin their continental quest with a preliminary round first-leg clash away to Le Cure Sylvester on Sunday. This is a match they will want to win to set a tone for the remainder of the season, especially after falling short in the final round of qualifiers to St Eloi Lupopo last season.
Missing out on the Champions League group stage last season nearly cut Ouaddou’s stint short at the club, as some impatient supporters felt he was out of his depth and couldn’t build on Jose Riveiro’s foundation after Riveiro led the team to a semi-final finish on the continent.
The Moroccan was backed by the club bosses, and he duly repaid their faith, silencing his detractors. He won the Betway Premiership, ending a 14-year drought, bagged the MTN8, the club’s fourth in a row, and broke the team’s hoodoo in the newly rebranded Carling Knockout.
Despite structural changes, departures, and injuries to key players, Pirates have started the season on a high, sitting top of the log and reaching the MTN8 final against Mamelodi Sundowns. Now, Ouaddou wants his troops to maintain that momentum on the continent, starting on Sunday.
“We’ve got a Champions League game to play which we know is very important for us, especially knowing that we went out early,” said Ouaddou after their 4-0 victory over Kruger United at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday night. “So, it’s only after that that we’ll have time to think about the MTN8.”
Scoring four goals against Kruger boosted Pirates' morale heading to Mauritius. However, most pleasing for Ouaddou was seeing contributions from his attackers – Boitumelo Radiopane, who registered an assist, and Yanela Mbuthuma, who scored a second-half brace.
With Sebastien Pedersen yet to fully adapt to the team’s philosophy, Ouaddou believes that the clinical edge shown by Radiopane and Mbuthuma strengthens the team’s depth in the final third.
“There are some games where we’ve created a lot of chances, but we didn’t manage to be efficient," Ouaddou said. “In this game, we didn’t create a lot of chances, but we managed to score four goals. Well done to the boys.
“These goals came during an important phase of the season where we’ll play in the Champions League and MTN8. So, I think it’s really important for the boys to score and bring a healthy competition that will be important going forward.”
Pirates may have hammered the newcomers – rooting them further at the bottom of the standings – but Ouaddou knows they were not easy customers, especially after nearly turning the game on its head late in the first half. That’s why he also lauded the team’s defensive unit for keeping yet another clean sheet, having conceded just twice in seven games this season.
“We were playing away, and we couldn’t afford to underestimate this Kruger side,” Ouaddou said. “When you see the lineup of this team, they have experienced players who have played in the big leagues.
“They have the experience of big games. So, it was important for us not to concede. We know that when we are strong in defence, we have a 99.9% chance of winning the game. The boys were strong defensively.
“They tried to block the space, and allowed us to play in transition. We caught them and exploited the space that they left us. We cannot always focus on beautiful football. We had a mission to win here today, and we did that. It was a successful mission.”
