Orlando Pirates’ Abdeslam Ouaddou battles to explain Marumo Gallants’ loss
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou faces mounting pressure after his team’s unexpected 2-1 loss to Marumo Gallants, dropping them to 14th in the Betway Premiership standings. Picture: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
Image: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix
The pressure is suddenly on the shoulders of Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, after his side lost their second Betway Premiership match in a row on Tuesday evening.
It certainly was not the result Pirates would have wanted as they went down 2-1 to Marumo Gallants, at Seisa Ramabodu Stadium, in Bloemfontein.
It means Pirates now sit way down in 14th spot, while Gallants rose to the top of the table.
The defeat came as a heavy blow for Pirates, Ouaddou revealed after the match.
Ouaddou Reflects on Unexpected Loss and Missed Opportunities
“Of course, it’s not the result we expected. We came here with a lot of ambition to take the three points we lost at home,” Ouaddou told SuperSport after the game.
“I can say that we started very well the game – opening the score with a lot of chances again we didn’t put in the net.
“Like I said when you don’t score you give the opportunity to finish you so it’s a bit disappointing that we start very badly and we’ll sit and think about that.”
Pirates vs. Gallants: A Dramatic Match Ends with Last-Minute Victory for Gallants
Pirates actually opened the scoring in the 16th minute through a Patrick Maswanganyi strike, but Gallants equalised on the stroke of half-time as Daniel Msendami netted.
There was less action in the second period, and as the match was seemingly headed for a stalemate, before Jaisen Clifford grabbed the winner for Gallants just on the final whistle.
“We are going to analyse the game and see what’s going wrong especially in the second half. We tried to make some changes,” said Ouaddou.
“Unfortunately, the changes we did they didn’t give what we expect from them, their level. Ja, it’s a big disappointment but we going to sit, to analyse and to come back stronger.”