Golden Arrows coach Clinton Larsen says his side’s 3-1 defeat against Orlando Pirates boiled down to poor marking and defending.

Arrows scored through midfielder Nduduzo Sibiya but were undone by a hat-trick from the Buccaneers striker Tendai Ndoro in their first game of the season at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.

The 45-year-old manager insists his side started the match off on a positive note with goalkeeper Maximilian Mbaeva not having much to do in the opening stages of the game.

He believed his side should’ve taken the lead in the first half from the number of opportunities they created.

‘We started the game brightly, defended well with Mbaeva having only one save to make which he tipped over the crossbar,’ Larsen told the Golden Arrows website.

‘We looked threatening throughout the first half and should have taken at least two of the numerous chances that we had created. Because of this, we went into the break 0-0.

However, the former Bloemfontein Celtic coach believes that Pirates score three goals because of poor marking and defending from Arrows.

‘The second half, we competed well but defended poorly resulting in us conceding three goals to Ndoro. Sibiya got us back to 1-1, but poor marking in our defensive third gifted Ndoro two more goals to take the game away from us,’ he added.

Golden Arrows will now welcome Cape Town City to the Prince Magogo Stadium in the Absa Premiership on Wednesday.

Kick-off has been set for 19:30.