Orlando Pirates coach Kjell Jonevret expressed his satisfaction after his side booked their spot in the semi-final of the Nedbank Cup with a 2-1 victory against Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday night.

Abbubaker Mobara and Thamsanqa Gabuza netted either side of Kabelo Mahlasela’s strike to keep the Soweto giants’ chances of securing silverware alive on their 80th anniversary.

The Pirates mentor acknowledged his relief at a spot in the last four of the tournament after a hard-fought victory, but highlighted the need for his side to improve when in possession of the ball.

‘Of course we are happy, but also a little bit relieved, it was close,’ he told SuperSport TV.

‘I think we played okay first half, even if we didn’t create the big chances … at least we played a little bit better,’

‘Then after we scored we were nervous and dropped down too low, and now you can see these grey hairs [on my head]. But okay, we came back again and scored again,’ he added.

The win sees Pirates extend their unbeaten streak to four games across all competitions, the first time they have managed to do so since last year November. However, the Swede suggested that his side could learn the hard way in future if they are to improve.

‘Overall we are happy, but I hope we can be a little better when we have the ball and when we lead, because I don’t know if we are going to manage to continue like this otherwise.

‘But of course we are happy to be in the semi-final, it’s fun.’

‘We are a little too small passes around the box, we had to be a little more straight on, I don’t think we had one or two shots in the first half and that’s too little, we have to create more big chances, or more finishes,’ he added.

‘But that’s fun also, we have something to work on … we have to analyse this tomorrow,’ he concluded.

Photo: Samuel Shivambu /BackpagePix