Kaze dismissal explained after Sekhukhune United’s defeat by Orlando Pirates

Sekhukhune United assistant coach Paulus Masehe said head coach Cedric Kaze was sent off after what he described as an unfortunate misunderstanding with the fourth official during the 2-0 Betway Premiership defeat by Orlando Pirates.

The two sides met for the second time in four days, but it was Pirates who secured another positive result on Tuesday night. The Buccaneers’ victory strengthened their position at the top, while Sekhukhune were left to reflect on missed opportunities in attack and a costly dismissal on the touchline.

Kaze was shown a red card during the final 10 minutes of the second half and is now unlikely to be in the technical area for Sekhukhune United’s MTN8 semi-final second leg.

Masehe said he did not believe Kaze’s comments warranted such a punishment, although he accepted that the club had little opportunity to challenge the decision after the match.

“I think it was just an unfortunate incident that happened, it was a little bit of a misunderstanding between our coach and the fourth official. I honestly don’t think that whatever he said deserved the punishment. But however, there’s nothing that we can say,” Masehe told SuperSport TV in a post-match interview.

The assistant coach also identified Sekhukhune’s failure to make better use of the counter-attack as a key reason for their inability to trouble Pirates more consistently.

Sekhukhune attempted to remain organised in a medium, compact defensive block, a shape which Masehe felt had restricted their opponents. However, he said the team did not turn possession wins into effective attacking moves often enough.

“I think from first half tactically, we didn’t adapt well enough as we were supposed to because from us being in our medium and compact block, we were able to frustrate them but however after winning the ball, we were not efficient enough in our break or counter-attack.

“Also, we didn’t do it with intend to exploit the spaces that were going to be left by Pirates, the fewer times we did it in-behind Hotto – we were able to get crosses from Nkosi and created chances from that.

“Second half, it was just an unfortunate situation – from run of play we conceded a goal when we were really, really pushing hard to try get back into the game,” he continued.

Masehe’s assessment was that Sekhukhune had found some success when they attacked the space behind Hotto. Those moves allowed Nkosi to deliver crosses and helped create chances, but they were not used frequently enough to change the momentum of the contest.

Instead, Sekhukhune conceded from open play in the second half while pushing for a way back into the match. The goal left them facing a two-goal deficit and compounded the frustration of a performance in which their defensive approach had initially made it difficult for Pirates to impose themselves.

The defeat came despite Babina Noko having another opportunity to face the Buccaneers only four days after their previous meeting. Pirates ultimately claimed the points and continued their unbeaten run, cementing top spot, with Radiopane also starring in the latest victory.