Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic feels his game plan was affected by Mthokozisi Dube’s red card, despite claiming all three points.

The Buccaneers beat Chippa United 1-0 on Wednesday after playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men.

This was Pirates’ first win of the season after playing to a 1-1 draw against newly promoted Highlands Park in their opening league fixture.

‘First of all, I believe we had controlled the game very well [and] it was not easy [because] they’re a competitive team that plays with good possession. Everything went well [and] we were leading first half,’ Sredojevic told SuperSport TV after the game.

‘In the second half, we wanted to kill the game however that unfortunate red card for our player put us on the back foot. In the last 15 minutes, we were playing with a player less and the opponent had the advantage. They had the advantage of numbers and [were] dominating.

‘However, whether you’re winning or trailing you’re training to play with one player less. There’s many more to come. We need to learn so many things.’

Sredojevic says he was happy that Pirates were able to grind out a positive result while praising the battles in midfield he witnessed on the day.

‘Kurt Lentjies, [Thamsanqa] Sangweni and whoever their third player in midfield was battling with our three midfielders. This was the main battle, the mother of all battles. I’m happy with some aspects of our performance and I’m happy with the result but there’s so much to improve in the next matches ahead of us,’ he concluded.