Bucs haven’t given up hope

Augusto Palacios hasn’t ruled out the chances of Orlando Pirates winning the league title just yet and has vowed to continue fighting after dropping two points in their first league fixture this year against Platinum Stars at Royal Bafokeng on Wednesday.

The Buccaneers have now failed to win in five league games following their 0-0 draw with Dikwena. And now, Palacios is looking to improve the team’s scoring ability heading into tomorrow’s fixture against African champions Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld before clashes with Eric Tinkler’s Cape Town City and Polokwane City.

“I don’t believe our chances to win the league have been dashed, we will continue fighting. We have Sundowns, Cape Town City and Polokwane City. We play Sundowns over the weekend and we need to work on scoring and finishing our chances in the next two days,” said the Pirates mentor.

“It is not a blame game and I’m happy with the players fighting attitude, but if we are not scoring goals, we have to make changes,” Palacios (below) added.

With only Thembinkosi Lorch making an appearance from among the new members of the squad, the Bucs coach was happy with the winger’s performance.

“It is not easy to introduce four new players into the team. We must be strategic about how and when we blood them. Lorch is a good player, the transition from Chippa United to Pirates is not easy but he did well.”

Mathematically, Palacios won’t give up on winning the title yet with the Buccaneers just nine points behind leaders SuperSport United, who have a better goal difference to that of Bidvest Wits and Tinkler’s City, with all three team level on 28 points.

Winning their next three games will be vital for Palacios and his Bucs team to keep their chances of clinching the league title alive.