Orlando Pirates coach Mandla Ncikazi was happy that his side kept their cool despite falling behind in the 2-1 comeback win DStv Premiership over Sekhukhune United.
Pirates found themselves behind via Seth Parusnath’s fine goal five minutes before half-time. However, two goals in three minutes completed a dramatic turnaround as Mntambo netted from the penalty spot and Kabelo Dlamini scored from distance.
The Buccaneers had plethora of chances to find the back of the net but failed to take them. Ncikazi admitted finishing still remains a big problem for his side, but he was happy with the way they showed a bit of composure in the final third before they finally found a breakthrough.
“One thing that I’ve seen as a coach is that it’s always very difficult to play against a low block,” the Buccaneers co-coach said after the game.
“You need a lot of patience and they are very good with their counter-attack. Our rest defence has to be on point and I don’t think with the goal that we conceded we defended well.
“But like you said this has been the story of our lives. Going into the match with Maritzburg, better chances, you don’t score against Royal AM. But it’s a work in progress. As long as now we can go behind and not panic.
“I think what was important at half-time is that we did not panic. We allowed the same team, same personnel in the second half. When we saw that there was no change, we changed the personnel, which I thought had a better effect.
“What I thought was encouraging was the ability to stay composed when we fell behind. Subconsciously I thought we would start rushing which happened in one match. But I just liked the character that we saw from our team today. Work in progress.”
Ncikazi also spoke on his side’s long injury list but insists they would not make excuses and believes the victory has given them the necessary confidence ahead of the Soweto derby this weekend.
“We have a lot of challenges, without making excuses I know in every team it happens,” he continued. “But in our team it’s extra-ordinary. You can make a list of a new team out of injuries. But God being God every reason, pre-destination, we don’t know why it’s happening like its happening.
“I’m just happy that today it was not as bad. I’m hoping that Ndah is ok because you can see what’s happening at the back. We lost Jele, now Ndah is doubtful. But hey, it is what it is. Let’s move to the next match. The most important match in the PSL calendar.
“I’m just happy that we won today with every adversity that we faced. Let’s look to the next one.
“The subconscious mind is very bad because when you see what has happened before you resort to a default position and we didn’t want our team to go into panic mode.
“And I think it helped us today. We continued playing the way we play. If you are possession based and you want to use possession to create chances don’t change now because you have fallen behind. You need the patience and against a low block they are waiting for one ball. Make one mistake and they will punish you. I think we did well second half in handling them in their counter-attacks.”