Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Wayne Sandilands expressed his displeasure and disappointment at his team’s heavy 4-1 defeat to the Mamelodi Sundowns on Thursday in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal.
Peter Shalulile, Themba Zwane, Lesedi Kapinga and Hlompho Kekana scored for the Brazilians as well as a Pirates goal which came from Tshegofatso Mabasa.
After much optimism going into the game, Pirates looked like they were in at some point but were ultimately outclassed and completely dominated by Sundowns. Infact, the Brazilians could even have scored more goals on the evening if they were slightly more clinical in front of goal.
At the end of it all, it was a disappointing way to lose the chance at a trophy this season, alongside bragging rights against a fierce rival.
Josef Zinnbauer was already critical of his side’s performance in that game and Sandilands is the latest to admit the loss was disappointing, while urging his teammates to put the loss behind them and bounce back stronger in the league.
“I don’t think we were good enough, you know as a big team, we weren’t in the game in my opinion. Ja, I don’t know, obviously we just have to go back to the drawing board and just keep working and ja, this performance, it just wasn’t good enough” said a disappointed Sandilands.
“I just think it’s about the result, its not about any personal thing. I think we just weren’t good enough on the day. It’s disappointing so as players, we have to take responsibility and we have to be better than that. We are a big team and we have to put the pieces back together again and bounce back, the season is not over, so ja, we’ve got to soldier on”.
Pirates currently lie in 5th place in the league and will be looking to bounce back from their previous result and possibly make a climb up the table when they face Maritzburg United on Sunday at the Orlando Stadium. Another loss means the Buccaneers have now lost their last two games in succession.
A fixture against Maritzburg United won’t exactly come as an ‘easy’ one, with the Team of Choice currently unbeaten in their last five league outings. Defensive lapses cost Pirates against Sundowns and it’ll be something Zinnbauer must aim to address moving forward.