Abdeslam Ouaddou was visibly upset and agitated with his side’s performance in the closing stages against Magesi on Tuesday night.
Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has slammed his players for their performance in the late stages of their 2-1 Carling Knockout quarterfinal win against Magesi at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday.
Pirates broke the deadlock just after half-time as Tshepang Moremi’s strike found the top right corner. The hosts doubled their lead in the 87th minute and lost concentration, thinking the game was put to bed. The tournament’s defending champions took advantage, pulling a goal back in stoppage time through John Mokone.
Following the fixture, Ouaddou expressed his anger with his players’ use of short passes that did not seem to achieve anything and their conceding late.
“My big disappointment is the last 15 minutes. It’s the first time I will address that. If we want to be more ambitious, if we want to go forward, we have to stop this nonsense of playing in a sterile position and to enjoy playing small passes. I think if we want to do this, we have to go to the circus. I’m not here to go to the circus or to play circus,” he said.
“I’m here to improve my players, to go forward, and we have to stop this nonsense because at the end we conceded a goal and the target was not to concede a goal, but to go with a clean sheet and to score more goals. I think we have to improve on that if we want to be more ambitious.”
The former Moroccan international sympathised with his side’s desire to entertain the home crowd in Orlando, but stated that a balance must be found between entertainment and effectiveness.
“I’m respecting a lot the culture, the traditions. I’m coming from a fantastic country. We love football. It’s a land of football, South Africa. But we have to find the right balance between doing our job and to score goals,” said Ouaddou.
“It’s okay because it’s a cup game. But in the league, every goal is very important, especially at the end. So, for me, as long as you make passes, you can make 20, 30 passes to make the show. I’m happy for that. I was a football player as well and I like the show. But to go forward and to finish the action, but if you stay in the same position, in the same place, and to make 30 passes in five square metres is not interesting.”
The 46-year-old tactician once again emphasised the importance of scoring as many goals as possible in a long and challenging league title race, which could come down to the wire. He issued a stern warning to his players who may not be taking their duties seriously enough.
“Like I told you just before, at the end of the league, every goal is very important. Don’t joke. We are not here to joke. We are here to perform. We are here to give results. If somebody wants to enjoy, to joke, no problem. He can go to make five-a-side with his colleagues, but we are not here to joke. We are here to reach some targets.”
The Buccaneers face a tough test in the Betway Premiership on Saturday, going up against top-of-the-table Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Pirates sit three points behind Masandawana with two games in hand and could pull level with a win at the weekend.
In addition, the Soweto giants will discover the identity of their Carling Knockout semi-final opponents on Wednesday night, as the draw will be conducted after Marumo Gallants face Stellenbosch at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Mangaung.
