Ouaddou Stands By Maswanganyi After Penalty Miss
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has expressed his support for his midfielder Patrick Maswanganyi after the former SuperSport United midfielder missed a penalty in their victory against Chippa United in the Betway Premiership at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
Despite the miss, Maswanganyi had a notable performance, scoring a goal in the 10th minute after Stanley Nwabali’s mistake, which opened the scoring for the Buccaneers.
Deon Hotto and Tshepang Moremi, who scored his first goal for the Buccaneers, added to Pirates’ tally to secure a convincing win.
Maswanganyi’s penalty miss in the 50th minute, saved by Stanley Nwabali, would have given him his third goal of the season, but Ouaddou believes that he had a fantastic game overall.
“You know it can happen in football, but I believe he had a fantastic game,” Ouaddou said, showing his support for the 27-year-old.
The former Marumo Gallants mentor emphasized that missing penalties is an inherent part of the game and encouraged Maswanganyi to keep working hard to achieve the best season possible.
“This is football, missing penalties is part of the game, and for me, it’s to just keep on encouraging him to keep working hard to achieve the best season for him,” Ouaddou added.
Ouaddou’s confidence in Maswanganyi’s abilities is evident, and he remains optimistic about the player’s future performances.
“It’s football, anything can happen, but I’m happy with his performance,” Ouaddou said.
The former PSL Players’ Player of the Season will now shift his focus to Bafana Bafana, having been selected by coach Hugo Broos for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho at Toyota Stadium this Friday and Nigeria next Tuesday.
After these games, Maswanganyi will rejoin Pirates, who will begin preparations for the MTN8 final against Stellenbosch scheduled for 13 September at Mbombela Stadium.
