Pirates assistant coach apologises
Orlando Pirates assistant coach Benson Mhlongo said he could not blame Bucs players for their dismal 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Sundowns on Saturday‚ but did apologise to the team’s fans for the embarrassment. Pirates have called a media conference for Monday‚ and speculation is that the Soweto giants will name changes to their technical staff to prevent their season sliding even further.
Orlando Pirates assistant coach Benson Mhlongo said he could not blame Bucs players for their dismal 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday‚ but did apologise to the team’s fans for the embarrassment.
Pirates have called a media conference for Monday‚ and speculation is that the Soweto giants will name changes to their technical staff to prevent their season sliding even further into disarray.
Bucs conceded six goals for the second time in the 2016-17 Premier Soccer League season.
Their 6-1 defeat against SuperSport United at Mbombela Stadium in 2016 equalled their record loss and led to the resignation of coach Muhsin Ertugral the next morning.
A rampant Downs broke that record at the weekend as Bucs’ insipid performance led to fury from fans‚ a pitch invasion and on-field violence that had to be broken up by a police armoured car‚ stun grenades and teargas.
Pirates caretaker coach Augusto Palacios could not even return to the field after the chaos that erupted following Percy Tau’s 82nd-minute sixth strike for Downs.
Nor could he face the media after the match‚ where Mhlongo had to address the briefing.
“He was not feeling well. Remember‚ Palacios has loved this team with his whole heart. So for him to get six goals won’t sit well with him
“He has been here for years now‚ so he was not feeling well at all‚” Mhlongo said‚ explaining Palacios’s absence from the field for the final eight minutes of the game once play resumed.
Mhlongo refused to blame any player for the thrashing. “Look, we can’t blame the boys. Sundowns were good on the day and they deserved to win.”
Asked what Bucs could say to their fans‚ Mhlongo replied: “To say sorry — what else can you say. And we can say sorry with the mouth‚ but the next game should say sorry to them by winning it.”
On how Pirates‚ now firmly entrenched in the bottom half of the table in 10th place‚ could somehow rescue their season‚ Mhlongo said: “Look, when you’re down‚ you can’t fall anymore. The only thing you can do is to stand up and move forward. Six goals in one game is not acceptable‚ never mind two. But what can you do? All you can do is move forward for our supporters‚ to say sorry.”
Bucs gave debuts in defence to left-back Marc van Heerden and centre-back James Okwuosa. The latter had a torrid first game in a Bucs jersey.
Mhlongo said Pirates showed character coming back for the final eight minutes and pushing to score a consolation goal. “It shows humbleness and courage and being apologetic to the supporters to come out and still try at least to get a goal back.
“For me‚ I’m proud of the boys to have come back out after such a tragic moment where we had supporters fighting‚ and trailing by six goals.
“So credit to them. At least they are man enough to stand up for what’s happening,” he added. /