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Despite the disappointment of losing 3-0 to Ajax Cape Town at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday, Orlando Pirates coach Micho Sredojevic says he and his players will take the outcome of the game as a lesson after their efforts in trying to save the game.
The Buccaneers fought hard after going 2-0 down in the first 32 minutes, with the Soweto giants dominating the match, but they either fluffed their opportunities or the Urban Warriors defence was able to stop them in their tracks.
Innocent Maela, in particular, missed an absolute sitter in the first half that would have got his side right back in it.
And Ajax killed off the game late on when Yannick Zakri added his second of the evening to halt the Buccaneers’ charge towards the top of the table.
“It was a hard lesson for us, all the statistics in this match were on our side, but the one that counts the most was not on our side. We are still in a process and still learning, but we have to go back to the drawing board,” said the Bucs mentor.
“When you are building, occasionally things like this happen. I hope this will awaken the pride in us and make us aware a game can go either way. The result did not reflect what happened on the field.”
What impressed the Bucs coach was the way his charges stuck to the technical team’s instructions and gave everything to try and get back into the game.
“They gave everything they could, but unfortunately, football was cruel to us today,” said Sredojevic.
Bucs will have a chance to try and redeem themselves when they host Maritzburg United at Orlando Stadium tomorrow. Ajax, meanwhile, visit Polokwane City on Sunday.