Halftime changes made the difference for Pirates

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou had to switch things around at halftime in order to engineer victory for his side in Tuesday’s Betway Premiership clash against rookies Orbit College.

Three changes at the break lifted a slovenly first-half performance and a thunderous crack from centre-back Lebone Seema in the 56th minute saw Pirates take all three points in a 1-0 win that moved them up the standings.

“We had planned, as I always say, to start the game with high pressure on the opponent in order to score early,” he explained.

“Unfortunately, the plan did not go to expectation. We were dominated, I think, in the whole first half. We lost many, many balls and we didn't have control of the ball because the opponent was good, very good players, with a lot of mobility in the middle. I was not so happy about how we started.

“We had to make some changes for the second half, to bring some fresh blood with players that would be able to play forward, to keep the ball and to control the ball.”

Ouaddou brought on Sipho Mbule and Thalente Mbatha in the midfield and took off a fatigued Deon Hotto at left-back to give new signing Nkosikhiona Ndaba a first run in Pirates’ colours.

“And I think those impact players changed the match in the second half. It's the image that we are expecting from Pirates all the time, if we are to be ambitious, if we want to reach quickly the top of the log. It's this kind of performance, this kind of rhythm that we expect from Pirates.”

But the coach said legs still looked a little heavy.

“I don't want to look for excuses, but we played just a few days ago a very important game for the MTN8 final,” he added, referring to the second leg of their semifinal tie against Mamelodi Sundowns in Atteridgeville last Saturday where Pirates triumphed on post-match penalties.

“So it's understandable that we didn't have a very good first half but in the second half, we played some nice football, going forward and we created some chances.

“We wanted to unbalance Orbit and we found space on the side. Later, we decided to close because these three points are very crucial for us.”

ORBIT COACH PLEASED DESPITE LOSS

Orbit College might have been beaten at Orlando Pirates on Tuesday but coach Pogiso Makhoye said he was delighted with the performance and full of praise for his players.

The Betway Premiership newcomers lost 1-0 to a second-half strike from Lebone Seema and have now been beaten in three of their opening four matches. But that did not wipe the smile off the rookie coach’s face.

“I think we had a good game plan where we didn't want to allow (Pirates) to have more of the ball, especially building from the back because we know in terms of those diagonal balls, they can play in their wingers,” he revealed afterwards.

“So, we said, ‘let's press them high and let's impose the game on them’. I think the boys did really well especially in the first half. Second half, after we lost Kobamelo Setlhodi, I think we lost our defensive organisation. Their goal came from a lapse of concentration, but I think the boys played very well and I'm very proud of them, especially in coming from the 0-3 loss to Sekhukhune (United last week). Nobody gave us a chance today.

“There will have been some of you who expected us to ask to get a hiding,” he told reporters at the post-match press conference.

Pirates did not allow Orbit to use Monnapule Saleng who is on loan at the newly promoted club for the season, but Makhoye said he felt this did not hinder their overall performance.

“Even though we didn't have those important players for tonight, I think those who came in performed well.

Makhoye said his squad had only two weeks of pre-season preparation because the promotion-relegation playoffs finished well into June and he was therefore treating their first five games of the season as experimentation.

“In our starting 11, we had about eight young players that imposed themselves. The first five games we play will be an experiment because we didn't have a good pre-season. Until we figure out our best team, I’m giving these boys a chance,” he added.