Guts and glory did it for Pirates, says coach
Orlando Pirates coach Micho Sredojevic says his players’ determination helped the Buccaneers to get maximum points during their clash with AmaZulu on Sunday at the King Zwelithini Stadium.
Pirates came back from an early goal scored by Mabhuti Khenyeza, with Musa Nyatama equalising for Bucs, while substitute Thabo Qalinge won the game for the Soweto giants with a low shot in the last 10 minutes of the game.
The clash between the two sides was tense with the home side piling pressure on the visitors, especially in the first half and the Bucs coach admitted that Cavin Johnson’s Usuthu made them sweat for a win, with his sides starting the the game with problems after allowing Usuthu to score on the break.
“If you really want to build a team you need to bring them here against this team to grow because this team demands you concentrate from the start to the end. We started on the back foot, allowing them to score from a counter-attack. Later on, we came back. I personally think it should’ve been a red card to the goalkeeper (AmaZulu’s Siyabonga Mbatha only got a yellow card after clattering into Thembinkosi Lorch), but it’s not my decision,” Sredojevic said.
“We scored from that set-piece, and at half-time, we regrouped and knew we were tired from Wednesday’s game and needed possession for the patient buildups ... to build the situation will bring us the chances to score and that chance finally came.”
The Bucs coach continued to hail the players’ spirit and says his players know what it means to wear the Pirates shirt.
“We have to give total credit to the players because they showed what wearing this shirt means to them and what winning this game means as well.”