‘Pirates must be more decisive in the box’
ORLANDO Pirates co-coach Fadlu Davids bemoaned his team’s wastefulness in front of goal as they failed to score for a third straight match in their 1-0 Premiership defeat to TS Galaxy on Monday.
The Buccaneers had 64% possession in the first half and fired seven attempts at Galaxy’s goal, but it was the Rockets who went into the break in the lead courtesy of Lifa Hlongwane’s goal.
“Congrats to TS Galaxy,” Davids said.
“I think their game plan in relation to waiting for one or two moments worked because they took their moment in the first half.
“That was the only moment they had, but as you said, that decisive moment in the box is what is letting us down, especially in the PSL this season.
“In the box we weren’t good enough; in the box you have to be calm, you have to be decisive, you have to be clear to really finish the opportunities, and that’s something that’s eluding us in the PSL.”
Pirates’ defeat means they are now five points off a CAF Champions league qualifying spot, having played a game more than second-placed Royal AM in the Premiership.
Davids expressed his disappointment at his side failing to capitalise on the teams around them dropping points.
“I don’t think it’s a physiological thing, we knew we had to win our four games to achieve the Champions League position,” he said.
“The other teams are not picking up points in that regard but it’s up to us, you can’t depend on the opponent all the time if you’re not winning.”
Pirates’ next match is a CAF Confederation Cup semi-final away to Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya on Sunday, but Davids believes his team should draw inspiration from their record in their African expeditions if they want to improve their goal conversion rate in time to win the trophy.
Pirates soared through the group stage of the competition with an impressive 15-goal haul in just six games, before edging Simba SC on penalties in the quarter-finals.
“Our CAF form in terms of scoring goals is different, but it’s not for us to blame the players because they put everything in; they gave their all but the luck in front of goal is just not there,” Davids said.
“You have to persevere, we have to switch our mindset now to the semi-final, and we’ve got to go really strong to win this competition.”