Pirates coach unhappy with first half performance against City

Coach Abdeslam Ouaddou was not happy with Orlando Pirates’ first-half performance despite the win over Sekhukhune United.

Second-half goals from Lebone Seema and Tshepang Moremi earned the Buccaneers a 2-0 victory over a determined City outfit at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Thursday evening.

The win saw Pirates close the gap on league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns to four points, and they still have two games in hand over the Brazilians.

Speaking after the game, Ouaddou admitted that they were lucky to go into the half-time break without conceding at least two goals.

“I think we were a bit surprised by the aggressiveness of Durban (City), but at the same time we had spoken about that; it’s their fighting spirit, they’re used to play like that so we were not comfortable in the first half to be honest,” Ouaddou told SuperSport TV.

“I think in the first half Durban deserved to score at least 2-0, and thanks to Sipho Chaine, that really saved the team, and after we went into half-time and made some tactical adjustments.

“We were surprised by this back five; we thought they would come with a back-four, but we made this adjustment, and I think the second half was just fantastic. For me, it was one of the best second halves that we have played since then.

“The players played the football we want, playing forward, between the lines, we found the third-man running between the space, and we scored in the set-pieces, so the second half was really perfect and credit has to be given to the boys,” added Ouaddou.

Pirates next face Marumo Gallants away at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Sunday, and they will be looking to close the gap again between them and Sundowns to one point before the FIFA international break.