Mokwena left disappointed after Pirates’ Caf exit
Orlando Pirates coach Rhulani Mokwena believes his side was unlucky not to progress to the next round of the Caf Champions League.
Rhulani Mokwena of Orlando Pirates ( BackpagePix)
Pirates exited the continental competition on Saturday after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Green Eagles of Zambia, losing the preliminary round tie 2-1 on aggregate in the end.
“If you play the way we played, not just from the tactical perspective but also emotionally, to get the players to go to another gear and the players responded,” Mokwena told SuperSport TV.
“In the second half they put a lot of effort, they really poured their heart and soul. We were unfortunate, I think also we lost it away when we lost 1-0. But that’s how the cookie crumbles. It’s Murphy’s law at the moment. Everything that could go wrong goes wrong you know,” he added.
“We spoke about the managing of critical phases. Unfortunately, we scored and you don’t manage the critical phase,” he added.
“Immediately after you score, you don’t manage the game. But like I said, it’s Murphy’s law, even the goal comes out of absolutely nothing, the equaliser and it’s where we are at the moment and we just have to soldier on. That’s it.
“We tried what we could do from a technical perspective from the bench, trying to affect the game, we changed the shape a little bit and once we changed the shape in the second half, we were a little bit aggressive; had more numbers in the final third and created chances.
“Sometimes the decision-making was not right, but I can’t ask for more. They fought and gave their best. When you’re defeated by trying and giving your best, you take it as a learning curve and try to improve.”
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