Bucs out of MTN8
’Keeper fails to stop winning goal
AS ORLANDO Pirates supporters walked out the Bidvest Stadium after their team was beaten 2-1 on Saturday, the name of Felipe Ovono was on many of their lips.
One disgruntled fan even imitated Ovono, showing his friends how the Bucs goalkeeper failed to handle the ball which led to Bidvest Wits’ winning goal in the MTN8 quarterfinal clash.
Second-choice Jackson Mabokgwane sat on the bench while last season’s number one goalkeeper Brighton Mhlongo watched from the stands as Ovono put on a show that would easily make it onto America’s Funniest Home Videos – if he was in that part of the world.
Despite his goalkeeper’s awful performance, Pirates coach Muhsin Ertugral chose to blame himself for making the decision to play Ovono again.
Ovono also made a handling error in Pirates’ 3-1 victory over Golden Arrows in the league last week.
“You will understand we will not talk about that publicly. I took that decision and I will have to take the blame. It was an unfortunate situation. I think he was not concentrating on the second goal. It dropped out of his hand, but these these things happen. We cannot point fingers,’ said Ertugral, who could not say if Ovono will start in Pirates’ next match.
“We will think about that. We need to see what situation he is (in) and how he is feeling. Obviously that’s a challenge because at Pirates you are always under the microscope. We will see.”
Pirates struggled to deal with the crosses and long balls that Wits kept pumping into the box and as a result conceded more than 15 corners.
Ertugral has to get that defence right because they were fortunate not to concede more than the two goals they let in.
“It’s not only our goalkeeper. We have clear organisation forms, but being afraid comes in one against one situations instead of closing in certain zones.
“The defensive line was a bit problematic. They made so many fouls in areas where they played into their hands. We needed to stay away from those situations. I stopped counting the corner kicks at 13.”
Ertugral said he was not too impressed with Abbubaker Mobara’s debut for Bucs. The former Ajax Cape Town man played in central midfield alongside Oupa Manyisa and Mpho Makola.
“No, not at all. He has played fantastic games in midfield, but it was not easy for him today.”