“Like I told you, I’m a very happy coach,” said Ouaddou after the game.
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou was full of praise for his squad after their hard-fought victory over Siwelele FC.
An excellent finish by substitute Oswin Appollis in the 80th minute earned the Buccaneers a 1-0 victory in a Betway Premiership match played at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday night.
READ MORE: Appollis scorcher sees Pirates sneak past Siwelele
Ouaddou was delighted with the Appollis’ and other substitutes’ impact in the game.
“Like I told you, I’m a very happy coach,” said Ouaddou after the game.
“I told you that I have a fantastic dressing room, all the guys who come on the pitch have the ambition to change the game.”
“They are fantastic, I call them impact players, it’s why I call them impact players because they are here to change the game and since a few games they did and I hope they will continue like that,” he added, singing praise of his squad,” added the Moroccan coach.
Ouaddou, however, admitted that Siwelele gave them a tough time and were unlucky to walk away from the match with nothing.
“You know, this team studied us well. They played a very compact block with a lot of aggression, they didn’t allow us to play so we didn’t have the time to play our football. But we made some changes again and the chance came at the end of the second half with the shoot from Appollis.
“We’re going to analyse what we can improve, but the most important today was to take the three points and to be close to the log leaders because we know that it’s very important not to lose points today against these teams,” commented Ouaddou.
Following the victory over Siwelele, Pirates will now change their attention to the CAF Champions League where they face Lioli of Lesotho in the second leg of the preliminary round.
The Buccaneers come into this clash as the favourites to reach the second round of the competition following their 3-0 win in the first leg at the Free State Stadium last Saturday.
ALSO READ: Pirates’ Ouaddou delighted with scrappy win
Ahead of the game, Ouaddou has warned his charges that despite their comfortable lead, the tie is not over.
“I don’t think like that. As long as we haven’t finished the second leg, no I don’t think we have one foot in the next round,” replied Ouaddou when asked if the Buccaneers had one foot in the second round following their win over Lioli in Bloemfontein.