There was no sense of despair after Orlando Pirates dropped two points in the title race on Saturday, with coach Abdeslam Ouaddou insisting the Betway Premiership is still theirs for the taking. He even suggested Siwelele’s point came down to a touch of divine intervention.
Pirates were held to a 1-1 draw by Siwelele at Orlando Stadium on Saturday afternoon, dropping two crucial points. The result means they now lead Mamelodi Sundowns by just one point, with the Brazilians still having a game in hand.
Given those circumstances, the pendulum has swung in Sundowns’ favour as they now firmly control their destiny in the race to secure a record-extending ninth consecutive league title with 10 matches remaining.
Ouaddou, however, refused to concede defeat in Pirates’ quest for their first league title since the 2011/12 season, saying belief remains strong within the squad, especially after finishing runners-up in the past three campaigns.
“We just have to keep going and believe,” Ouaddou said.
“We still have nine games to play, and I think our boys did everything today. You could see that at the end of the game.”
After grinding out results with below-par performances in their previous matches against Polokwane City and Richards Bay, the Buccaneers actually showed improvement against Siwelele, with their only shortcoming being in front of goal.
Even then, it was not due to a lack of effort. Pirates registered numerous shots on target, but goalkeeper Ricardo Goss stood firm, making 11 saves to deny them more goals and a potential victory. His performance earned him the Player of the Match award.
Ouaddou praised Goss’ heroics, joking that the goalkeeper produced a “Messiah-like” performance to rescue Siwelele.
“We have to give credit to the goalkeeper. He was the Man of the Match. We didn’t have a goalkeeper today – we had Jesus Christ in goal,” Ouaddou said.
“He saved everything. I don’t know what more my players could have done. They gave everything – they had shots on target and created chances. But we had a wall in goal. He saved his team today. He had a fantastic game.”
*Mihlali Baleka is Independent Media’s senior football reporter and a panelist on the group’s soccer podcast, The D-Line, which is exclusive on our YouTube channel The Clutch
