Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has lauded this season’s title race between them and Mamelodi Sundowns, saying it was good for SA football.
Pirates and Sundowns are neck and neck at the summit of the standings, with Bucs enjoying a better goal difference to occupy the first spot.
Ouaddou thinks having one team dominating kills the intrigue of the league, suggesting the Brazilians’ dominance in the past seasons was making PSL boring. “We can see that there’s a lot of interest in the title race, and this is nice for football; it’s good for the PSL and for the fans,” Ouaddou said after Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
“When one team is leading with 15 points at the halfway point of the season, there’s no interest at all. I think what we are seeing now is what fans want. Two teams are fighting, and that’s good for SA football.”
Pirates struck via Relebohile Mofokeng and Patrick Maswanganyi, while Bonginkosi Dlamini scored what ended up as a mere consolation for the home side.
Ouaddou praised the character of his troops, saying it was never easy to face Rise and Shine at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium
“I have to thank my boys for the character they showed today. It’s not easy to come to play here,” he said, also expressing disappointment that the game wasn’t played at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium.
The mentor felt the condition of the pitch at Old Peter Mokaba put players at the risk of getting injured. “The only thing I can say is that it’s a bit disappointing not to play in a fantastic stadium [New Peter Mokaba] next to this one because the PSL is the best league in Africa.
“I think when we play such a professional game, we need to put the players in the right condition because tonight [Wednesday] the pitch didn’t allow us to play properly. We could have had injuries as well, and I don’t think that’s good for football. It’s not good for fans as well because they want to see nice football. But the pitch didn’t allow us to play good football.”
Sowetan
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