Orlando Pirates captain Nkosinathi Sibisi injured in MTN8 win

Orlando Pirates captain Nkosinathi Sibisi suffered an injury during the Buccaneers’ 2-1 victory over Durban City in the MTN8 quarter-finals, head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has confirmed.

The result sent Pirates through to the semi-finals and moved them closer to a fifth successive MTN8 triumph. However, their progress came at a cost after Sibisi was forced off at half-time.

New signing Ghampani Lungu scored the winning goal for Pirates, who had to withstand a determined challenge from Durban City before securing their place in the last four.

Ouaddou said the injury disrupted his side’s balance and contributed to City scoring, but praised Pirates for showing the character to recover and continue pushing for victory.

“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.

“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.

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

“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,” Ouaddou said.

Pirates had started the match with the intention of controlling the tempo, according to their coach, and created several chances before Lungu’s decisive contribution. Ouaddou felt his team could have settled the contest earlier after missing a number of important opportunities.

Instead, the Buccaneers were required to keep their focus after Durban City took advantage of the imbalance caused by the half-time changes. Pirates eventually found a way to regain control and secure the result.

The victory keeps their hopes of winning the MTN8 for a fifth consecutive time alive, while the semi-final qualification gives the club another opportunity to continue its run in the competition. The immediate concern for Ouaddou, however, will be the condition of Sibisi after the captain’s injury forced him out of the match.