Micho happy with Pirates players’ character
The story of misfiring in front of goals despite playing well and creating chances continued for Orlando Pirates after crashing out of the quarterfinals of the Telkom Knockout.
Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic (Coach) of Orlando Pirates (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
This follows a 4-2 penalties loss to Polokwane City after a 2-2 draw at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday night.
It was a game filled with plenty of chances for both sides, but Bucs players should be kicking themselves hard, particularly Mpho Makola after his penalty in regular time was saved by the injured George Chigova before he went off, while Thamsanqa Gabuza, finding himself unmarked, ballooned the ball over the bar with only the keeper to beat.
The Buccaneers came from behind twice in the match, with Rise and Shine striker Rendani Ndou finding the net twice, while Ntsikelelo Nyauza and Makola scored for Bucs.
READ: City dump Pirates out of TKO
With such a disappointing loss, Bucs coach Micho Sredojevic was nevertheless happy with the players’ character in the game and said they need to find a balance between scoring and defending, as well as working on the confidence of the players when they are in front of goal.
“They gave their best. We need to work on the confidence of the players when they are inside the box and we also need to find a balance to make it tight at the back,” said the Bucs coach.
“We created chances but we couldn’t succeed and we went into penalties and penalties are a lottery. I want to thank the players for giving their best.”
Micho added that he prepared his players for penalties, but it was unfortunate that things did not work out for them.
For City’s coach Bernard Molekwa, meanwhile, it was a night he will forever cherish as he succeeded on steering the club to the TKO semifinals for the first time in the club’s history.
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