Ouaddou On The Opening-Day Loss: Nothing Is Lost

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says “nothing is lost” and it’s “still the beginning” after his team’s 1-0 loss to Sekhukhune United at Orlando Stadium in their opening league game of the 2025/26 season on Saturday.

Pirates were arguably the stronger of the two sides, unluckily hitting the post in both halves. However, they found Sekhukhune’s defense compact and difficult to break down.

This was the second time the Soweto giants have lost to Sekhukhune at home, with the same scoreline occurring there last April.

Ouaddou admitted that his team created plenty of scoring opportunities but lacked the decisive final pass or finish to beat Sekhukhune goalkeeper Renaldo Leaner.

“When you see the behavior of the players during the game and the intensity they put in, we just didn’t score. We hit the post, maybe we needed a better pass, a lack of finishing,” he said. “We have to focus on the next game. It’s the beginning. Nothing is lost. We have to believe.”

Ouaddou Reflects on Performance and Looks Ahead

Despite the disappointing result, Ouaddou reflected on the team’s dominant performance. “We are disappointed when we see the result of the match. I think we were dominant,” he said. “We created a lot of very important chances that we could have scored, but that’s how football is. When you are not decisive in the box and with your finishing, of course, the opponent can have some chances. They had one chance and scored from a set piece.”

The coach emphasized that there were many positives to take from the game and that the team must “keep believing.” “Of course, we wanted to show another face today and win to confirm our strength at home, but the team played well,” Ouaddou continued. “We were very well organized, we created many chances, and we played some nice football, but yeah, let’s keep believing.”

Having now put themselves under pressure, Pirates will have to win their next game, which is an away fixture against Ouaddou’s former club, Marumo Gallants, at  Petrus Molemela Stadium on Tuesday.