Pirates will ‘die on the pitch’, says Ouaddou on thrilling title race with Sundowns

The Betway Premiership title race has turned into a ding-dong battle between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns, and Buccaneers coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says his team are going to fight until the last second of the season to win it.

We are going to fight until the last second of the season; we are going to die on the pitch.

—  Abdeslam Ouaddou, Orlando Pirates coach

The two teams go into the last 10 league matches level on 47 points after 20 matches, with Pirates top of the standings with a goal difference margin of one (+25 to +24) after their 2-0 win over Richards Bay FC at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday night.

They are the form teams in the league in recent weeks too, with the Brazilians having won their last seven league games while Pirates have only one defeat and six wins during the same period.

Interestingly, Pirates’ last league defeat was at the hands of Sundowns, 2-1 at FNB Stadium on February 18.

Downs have Champions League commitments on Friday, where they take on Stade Malien of Mali in the quarterfinal at Loftus (8pm), and Pirates have a chance to pull away when they take on Siwelele FC in the Premiership on Saturday.

“I am happy with the character, personality and aggressiveness shown by the players, and I take positives even if we didn’t have control of the match,” Ouaddou said.

“We scored two goals and managed another clean sheet. We still have 10 games, and we are going to fight until the last second of the season; we are going to die on the pitch.”

Though at the end they prevailed by two unanswered goals, Pirates did not have it all their way. Bay stayed in the game after they conceded a 26th-minute opener by Oswin Appollis, with Evidence Makgopa’s added-time penalty finally making it 2-0.

“We expected a tough game from a strong and compact side that doesn’t give you spaces between the lines. They prevented us from playing from the central corridors, and they are aggressive in pressing and in duels,” Ouaddou said.

“We wanted to find another solution of unbalancing them by going through the side, and we managed to score passing from there.

“I think we had some chances and more control in the first half. In the last 20 minutes of the second half, we didn’t have the control we wanted.

“We made some changes to [try to] score the second goal, but we were not efficient in the last third. In the heart of the game, we lost some crucial balls, and we could have been punished by their transition.

“Sometimes when you feel you cannot score the second goal, you close the shop. You can say it is a big club, but sometimes you need the three points because it is important in the title race.

“We were playing against a team that defends well, was spot on tactically and disciplined in transitions. Most of the goals they have scored in the PSL, especially when they played recently against Kaizer Chiefs, show they have good finishers.

“So, you need to be disciplined with counter-pressing. You have to find the balance between trying to unbalance them, and at the same time, you have to be careful not to be punished by their transition.

“In that area I really have to congratulate our boys because our defence was good.”

TimesLIVE