Bucs not getting carried way

Orlando Pirates had luck on their side as they beat Wits 3-2, taking them to the top of the table, but there’s still a way to go.

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Orlando Pirates head coach Ruud Krol said he was lucky and is not getting carried away after his charges staged one of the great escapes of the season when they defeated a gutsy BidVest Wits 3-2 in a dramatic Absa Premiership five goal thriller at Orlando Stadium on Saturday night.

While Krol was feeling lucky he deserves credit for three brave second half substitutions that won the match.

The way in which Bucs refused to give up after trailing 2-0 underlined their championship material.

The Students' coach Roger de Sa, admitted his side were not “street smart” enough after super-sub Katlego Mashego's late injury time goal sunk his struggling not-so Clever-Boys.

Krol praised his side’s character and fighting spirit coming back from 2-0 at halftime to notch what looked, at halftime, an unlikely win.

“We got lucky against Wits. Any side needs a little luck, which ran our way. But the players deserve a pat on the back for the way they fought well and never gave up.” said Krol.

“There is still a long way to go and we have to keep our feet firmly on the ground.” explained Krol referring to his side's title ambitions.

The modest Bucs coach can take a bow after bringing on wingers Mark Mayambela and Tlou Segolela at halftime for injured Daine Klate and out-of-sorts Patrick Malokase. His master stroke was throwing in striker Mashego in at the death.

Mayambela was a revelation setting up both goals for Isaac Chansa in the 69 th and 72nd minutes that cancelled out first half goals by Stanton Frederick’s and Sifiso Vilakazi.

Krol gave his technical staff the credit for bringing on Mashego.

“The technical team decided to gamble and throw on Mashego for the last 15 minutes or so and it worked.”

Krol said the turning point in the match was when Mayambela and Oupa Manyisa hit the woodwork in quick succession in the 61st minute.

“We knew then we could get back into the game. Hitting the post gave us that self belief. “

The former Dutch star is now focusing on what he said was a difficult away trip to Botshabelo Stadium on Saturday where they face Free State Stars.

De Sa put his head in his hands afterwards in frustration afterwards but refused to blame his players for letting this match slip away.

“We are not street wise enough. We lack experience in this type of situation when we were leading 2-0 we could not hold on. We made three basic mistakes and were punished.” said De Sa.

De Sa said it would have been different had Vilakazi’s shot not hit the post in the 33rd minute.

“Had we made it 3-0 then it would have been game over.”

De Sa admitted he was fearful of relegation but said there were a lot of positives to take out of the match.

“We are flirting with the relegation zone. But they way we played by taking the game to Pirates and scoring two goals against a side fighting to win the league showed me this side has got character and the will to fight. I am confident in future we will be able to convert games like this into points. It was a tough learning curve but I felt we should have got a point.”

De Sa takes his players to Reunion for their African Confederations Cup, first round, first leg clash against US St Marienne on Saturday at 5pm.

“This match will help us gain experience and it will be good to get away and experience another country,” said De Sa.

De Sa said the Wits league match against Santos scheduled for Milpark on Wednesday night had been postponed due to the Confederations Cup fixture. – Sapa

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/bucs-not-getting-carried-way-1.1015703

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