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Davids admits Pirates struggled to recover from their Caf commitments

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  • Post published:February 17, 2022

Orlando Pirates co-coach Fadlu Davids says his side struggled with the demands of playing two games in the space of three days, but believes they will get used to it following their 0-0 draw with Golden Arrows.

The Sea Robbers saw a four-match winning streak across all competitions end with the goalless draw on Wednesday evening.

Pirates struggled in the first half and got better as the game wore on but still couldn’t find the winning goal.

Speaking to SuperSport TV after the game, Davids admitted that his side were still recovering from their Caf Confederation Cup commitments.

“We started the game very slow. Of course, they’re a well-rested team having prepared the whole week. Of course, we’re still recovering from a tough Caf match. But, no excuses, it’s our first game after this period with two days between, ” Davids said.

“But, as our team will get used to these two days between matches, we have to start games better. I think that’s what disturbed us in the first half. They were on top, we were slow to get into the game. Only in the second half of the first half we started playing. Very good performance in the second half. Really dominant. Creating chances. Definitely two points dropped tonight.

“We had to fix a couple of things tactically at half time. Number two – the intensity in our press. If you give them time to play they build up with a flat four plus a double six. They try to draw you out. The 10s are in between the lines. We had to get a bit more advanced with our pressing. Sometimes our wing back pressing their full back and going more on the front foot.

“We nearly scored in the first half with [Goodman] Mosele. We won the ball back and almost scored when the goalkeeper was out of position but really good, the players tried, just unfortunate to get the goal today. In games like these where you start slow, you throw away that first 20-25 minutes, you have to score the goals to be able to win these types of games and keep the momentum going. Four games in a row, we couldn’t get the fifth unfortunately tonight.”