Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic believes his ‘three strategic points’ played a vital part in helping his side advance to the Telkom Knockout Cup quarter-final.

The Sea Robbers defeated Golden Arrows 1-0 in the round of 16 after Thabo Qalinge’s 35th minute goal proved to be the difference at the Princess Magogo Stadium on Saturday.

Despite the Buccaneers dominating possession throughout the match, Sredojevic felt the encounter was a ‘proper competitive cup match’.

‘It was a good game of football, proper competitive cup match. We played against a very good team who are second on the log in the PSL,’ Sredojevic told SuperSport TV after the match.

‘We came here with the aim to qualify through three strategic points; One, instead of sitting back and defend, we wanted to take control of possession. I believe we dominated possession.

‘Two, we wanted to create and convert. We opened the game well after 35 minutes. In the second half, instead of holding on to possession we wanted to kill off the game.

‘Three, in the second half the opposition were coming through us on the wings, we wanted to block the crosses, but you can’t block everything. I’m happy we qualified,’ he concluded.

Orlando Pirates will now turn their attention to the Absa Premiership when they welcome Mamelodi Sundowns to the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday, with kick-off scheduled for 19:30.