Following the squandered chances that led to their demise against Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has conceded that his side has a problem with being clinical in front of goals.
Pirates suffered a rather disappointing 2-1 defeat to Sundowns during their Betway Premiership encounter midweek. This was a game that could have gone either way had Ouaddou’s charges buried their chances early in the game.
Sundowns then capitalised and scored two first-half goals through Brayan Leon. These were enough to bag them maximum points and narrow the gap to three points with a game in hand.
Area of concern for coach
Now with the focus on the Nedbank Cup this weekend, Ouaddou said the ability to score more goals is becoming a concern for his side. And they should be more clinical in front of goals.
“Of course, it’s an area of concern for me. Because if you have followed my previous press conferences over the past few months, we can see that it’s an area we must be efficient in,” Ouaddou said ahead of their Last 16 tie against Motsepe Foundation Championship side Casric Stars on Saturday evening.
“After all, it’s the reality of football. When we want to be more ambitious, we need to be clinical. And of course, we keep working, and we don’t stop working with the guys. But you must understand as well that we have a young team, young strikers.
“And I just mentioned it before, it’s important when you develop the players, they have potential. But you need to be patient with them. It’s the philosophy of the club, and we accept it.”
Yanela Mbuthuma currently leads the Pirates attack. And new signing Andre de Jong and Boitumelo Radiopane are the remaining options. This in the absence of Evidence Makgopa.
Star player recovering from injury
Ouaddou has since explained the absence of Makgopa against Sundowns. And it is yet to be seen if he will be available for the Nedbank game against Casric and the big one next Saturday against Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto Derby.
“I have to specify that Makgopa could not be on the team yesterday. This is because he was injured, so he could not be on the team,” Ouaddou added.
The game between the Buccaneers and Casric will get underway at 6pm at the Orlando Stadium.
