Sekhukhune United rebuilding explains Orlando Pirates defeats – Masehe

Sekhukhune United assistant coach Paulus Masehe says the club’s difficulties after three successive defeats by Orlando Pirates must be viewed in the context of a major rebuilding project.

Babina Noko were eliminated from the top eight tournament after Orlando Pirates secured a 4-0 aggregate victory in their two-legged semi-final. Sekhukhune United then suffered a third consecutive loss to the Buccaneers when the teams met again in the Betway Premiership between the two semi-final legs, with Pirates winning 2-0 in midweek.

The run of results represents an unprecedented sequence for the club, according to Masehe. However, he believes the changes made to the squad before the new season meant that a difficult period was always possible.

The Limpopo club released several experienced players who had played important roles during the previous campaign and replaced them with a group of new arrivals, including a number of youngsters. Masehe says that transition has left the team needing time to develop.

“Yeah, of course it has never happened in the history of our football club. But you have to understand that this season we are in a transition period whereby we are rebuilding,” said Masehe.

Sekhukhune’s assistant coach acknowledged that the team was likely to suffer setbacks while attempting to establish a new squad structure. He said the club was aware of the lessons contained in the defeats, but wanted the players and coaching staff to concentrate on the progress that could still be made.

“And we have introduced a whole lot of youngsters. And we let go of a whole lot of experienced players that we had from last season. It’s the period of the team where we are going to suffer a little bit.

“We understand that; hence, we now tend to focus more on the positives than the negatives. Yes, there are lessons to learn from the negatives.

“But there are a lot of positives out there that we can try by all means to try and nurture. So that we can build our team much better going forward.”

The latest defeat to Orlando Pirates came after the two sides had already met twice in the semi-final of the top eight competition. Sekhukhune United therefore faced the same opponents in three consecutive matches, losing each time and conceding six goals without scoring.

Masehe maintained that the results should be assessed alongside the club’s wider squad changes rather than viewed in isolation. His priority is to develop the younger players introduced this season and use the current transition to build a stronger Sekhukhune United team in the future.

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