“I still think we could have scored more goals,” said Ouaddou.
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has explained why he is still not entirely happy with his team despite their impressive win over Lioli.
Despite winning 3-0 at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, Ouaddou felt that the team could have scored more goals to kill off the contest. The winning goals were scored by Tshegofatso Mabasa, who netted a brace, and Oswin Appollis.
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“We had a good game; we respected the plan. Congratulations to the boys but it’s still only the first half and I can’t be 100% satisfied, because I still think we could have scored more goals,” Ouaddou told SABC Sport after the game.
“In the first half, we never found the space to go forward or behind their back-four because of the tactics of the opponent. They played well, but I’m happy for the second half as we made changes and brought in some speed on the wings. We tried to stretch them to find some space,” added the Moroccan.
Ouaddou was happy with the contribution made by his second half substitutes, especially Tshepang Moremi.
“We thought in the first half our midfielders were a bit far from [Tshegofatso] Mabasa and it’s a guy that needs players close to him, so we decided to bring somebody close to him, to play forward, to pass forward, as we did against Stellenbosch, we brought Moremi in to bring service into the box,” Ouaddou explained.
“It’s good for the guys, I’m happy. We’re going to rest now because we have an important game in the league now. I would like to thank our fans, everywhere we go they are fantastic, our 12th man, the boys need them and we expect them also to pack the stadium at home in the second leg,” concluded Ouaddou.
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The sides will meet again in the second leg at the Orlando Stadium next Saturday. However, prior to that Pirates will play Siwelele FC away in Bloemfontein in a Betway Premiership match on Tuesday.