Orlando Pirates boss Abdeslam Ouaddou hails young midfield duo after Chippa United win

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou singled out Camren Dansin and Thapelo Mokobodi after the Buccaneers returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Chippa United.

Pirates scored three times after half-time to condemn the Chilli Boys to another defeat and leave them still searching for their first win of the season. Ghampani Lungu, Lebone Seema and Daniel Msendami were the scorers as the Buccaneers secured a convincing result and moved above Kaizer Chiefs.

Ouaddou selected Dansin and Mokobodi to operate in central midfield, and was pleased with the way the two young players handled the demands of the match.

The coach said his tactical plan was based on giving Pirates control of possession while finding spaces between Chippa’s lines.

“I’m a coach that really wants to have the ball you know and we wanted to be regarding the profile of the opponent, we knew that they will have maybe a mid-block, compact block and we needed somebody some players to find the players between the lines and I wanted to play with two eights,” the coach told SuperSport after the game.

Ouaddou said the midfield pair offered different qualities and suggested Pirates could have a strong future if they can reproduce the standards they set against Chippa.

“I think they were great, two profiles, two young. Pirates have a great future, now the again the question mark to repeat the quality they showed today, we’ll see. But overall credit have to be given to the boys, fantastic answer.

“From the keeper to the striker involving the impact players they gave us a very good answer today. I’m happy.”

The victory provided a response after Pirates’ recent results and followed an encouraging second-half display against AmaZulu, which Ouaddou also referred to when assessing the team’s progress.

He said the improvement seen after the interval against AmaZulu had been reinforced by the performance against Chippa United, suggesting the two matches offered evidence of the direction in which the team was developing.

“For sure, I will take in consideration the second half of AmaZulu for sure because it was really interesting and the second half was only the confirmation of what we have seen today and lastly I would just like to thank the people from Durban here today.

“The fans, we all the time been supported well, fantastic fans and to thank the grounds keeper because in the pitch maybe three games on that pitch, very professional and I would like to give them credit,” Ouaddou said.

Pirates had played back-to-back matches in Durban, and the manager used his post-match comments to acknowledge both the supporters and the groundskeeper.

He praised the fans for their consistent backing and described the pitch as professional despite it having hosted three matches. Ouaddou’s comments came after a performance in which the Buccaneers turned a goalless first half into a three-goal success, with Lungu, Seema and Msendami finding the net after the break.

For Chippa United, the defeat extended a winless start to the season, while Pirates left the match with renewed confidence and three points.