What Stood Out For Ouaddou In Polokwane City Win
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has revealed what pleased him in his first official match in charge of the Buccaneers, a 2-0 win over Polokwane City in the MTN8 quarterfinal clash at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
The Soweto giants, entering the top eight competition as defending champions, having won the tournament for three successive seasons under then-coach Jose Riveiro, beat Rise and Shine courtesy of first-half goals from Oswin Appollis and Patrick Maswanganyi.
With a host of players making their first appearance for the Sea Robbers, the Moroccan tactician cut a content figure with how his charges executed the game plan and secured their ticket to the next stage of the competition.
“First of all, it was the first game for many of the players and me as well inside our stadium in front of our supporters. It was important for us to start with a win, and I think the boys did well,” said Ouaddou.
“We wanted to start with high intensity in that game, and that is the target for this season, to have a team that starts with very high intensity in the games. The plan has been respected; we wanted to score early.”
While Pirates reigned supreme over the Limpopo club in the season opener, Ouaddou is elated that his troops managed to keep a clean sheet in their win, stating that conceding in their pre-season camp in Spain left a lot to be desired.
“I found that my team was strong in some areas, and we wanted to have a clean sheet as well because during the pre-season we had many games, interesting games, but most of them we conceded – I was not so happy,” he added.
“So, the target today [Saturday] was to score, of course, but to have a clean sheet also. I think most of the targets are being reached. I’m a bit disappointed because in the second half, we could have scored the third goal as well.
“But we are happy and there are lots of positive things, and we have to improve some areas, it’s not finished, I think the work is not done, but we started the competition well and let’s see what happens after [this win].”
The Buccaneers will now await their fate in the semi-finals of the MTN8, with the draw set to be conducted after the Mamelodi Sundowns and Richards Bay encounter at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday (18:00).
