Ouaddou demands greater control after Orlando Pirates’ winning start

Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says he expected more from his side in possession despite the defending Betway Premiership champions beginning the season with a 2-0 victory over Milford FC.

The Buccaneers opened their title defence in front of a sold-out crowd at Orlando Amstel Arena, with Oswin Appollis and Tshepang Moremi scoring in either half to secure the points against the competition debutants.

Pirates’ result was convincing on the scoreboard, but Ouaddou admitted that his team did not dominate the match as he had hoped. He also suggested that some players who had recently featured at the FIFA World Cup in North America were still feeling the effects of the tournament.

“Look, it was not an easy game for the opening game of the PSL, I expected a little bit more in terms of being dominant on the ball, more control on the ball. I think first half even we managed to create some chances to kill the game,” Ouaddou told SuperSport TV.

The Pirates coach felt his side had opportunities to put the match beyond Milford FC before the interval, but lacked the control required to dictate the contest.

“I don’t think we had the control of the game, in the second half we made some tactical adjustments in order to find more players in the half spaces and at the same time to be more patient to give the opportunity to the second line to give us to find the run.

“Because I felt that everybody wants the ball on the feet at the same line and we didn’t put this team in trouble too much in the first half but in the second we managed to create like three or four chances but ok we have to give credit to the boys in the opening game.

“We can see that some of the players still a little bit tired with the World Cup, but good three points to take and we move on,” he added.

Ouaddou was also critical of Pirates’ errors when attempting to play out from the back. Mistakes in possession gave Milford FC opportunities to attack and created chances for the visitors, prompting the coach to call for a quick improvement in his team’s stability.

“You right, and I think it’s something we have to fix quickly because I cannot say that this team put us in trouble. I think we made mistakes and we gave them opportunities to score, but thanks God we didn’t concede goal but we could’ve conceded goal.

“And I think it’s something we have to fix quickly and to find back our serenity our calm, you know we’re Orlando Pirates and I expect that some times we stress too much and if we want to play at the high-level and be ambitious again for the title and Champions League again we need to have more stability,” Ouaddou said.

Despite the areas for improvement, Pirates took all three points from their opening fixture, with Appollis and Moremi providing the goals that gave the champions a positive start to their campaign.