Orlando Pirates survive Durban City scare after Ghampani Lungu’s extra-time winner

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou said his team should have settled their MTN8 tie against Durban City before extra-time after missing several clear opportunities in Saturday afternoon’s late victory.

Pirates had appeared to be in control at the interval, leading through Patrick Maswanganyi’s penalty after Durban City were reduced to 10 men. Brooklyn Poggenpoel was sent off for a foul on Tshepang Moremi, giving the home side a numerical advantage for the remainder of the contest.

Despite that setback, the Nedbank Cup champions responded strongly after the break. Jean Lwamba equalised for Durban City, forcing the match into extra-time before Ghampani Lungu produced a last-gasp long-range strike to secure victory for Orlando Pirates.

Ouaddou acknowledged the difficulty of the MTN8 competition, while also expressing frustration that his side had not taken advantage of their early dominance.

“Look, first of all we know that MTN8 cup matches are all the time difficult and I think it’s the magic of this competition, nobody will come here in Orlando Pirates and to give you the game,” Ouaddou told SABC Sport in a post-match interview.

The Orlando Pirates coach said his players had started in the manner he wanted, dictating the tempo and controlling the match. However, he felt their failure to convert important chances allowed Durban City to remain in contention.

“So, of course we started the game like what we want, putting the tempo, having control, I think we could’ve killed the game earlier before. But we missed some important big chances and I had to make some changes at the halftime because Sibisi was injured.

Ouaddou also revealed that Sibisi’s injury forced him to alter his team at half-time. He believed the change affected the balance of the side and contributed to the problems Orlando Pirates faced after the interval.

“I think it created some imbalance in that area; we conceded a goal, but what I liked is the braveness, character, personality of my team.

Although Durban City levelled despite playing with 10 men, Ouaddou praised Orlando Pirates for continuing to believe and eventually finding a way to win in extra-time.

“We believed until the end and went until the into extra-time. But I think we could’ve killed the game before because Pirates really dominated that game.”

The result came after a contest in which Orlando Pirates controlled the opening stages, took the lead from the penalty spot and then had to withstand Durban City’s second-half response. Lungu’s late effort ultimately prevented the tie from being decided by a penalty shootout.