Orlando Pirates’ 1-2 loss to Swallows in the MTN8 quarterfinal at Orlando Stadium on Saturday proved there is a lot of work to be done if they are to compete for the league title this season.
The defeat has left beleaguered coach Josef Zinnbauer under a lot of pressure again, with calls for him to be fired resurfacing .
With the German mentor in his third season with the Buccaneers, a lot was expected from the team. But what showed up on Saturday was a team with no structure, with players being played out of positions again, an attack with no purpose and struggling to create chances.
Given that Pirates only had one shot on target in the first half, which was the penalty converted by Kabelo Dlamini, was also not surprising considering that they played without a striker.
Zinnbauer continued with the false number nine formation despite it not working last season.
There is also no improvement from last season and the fact that Pirates did not go big in the transfer market should be a worry for their supporters, who are not happy about the recent display.
Zinnbauer admitted that their performance against Swallows was below par. “Bad result, bad start and it was tough as well. We didn’t do well against the high pressing from Swallows,” he told the media.
“We made a lot of mistakes and we gave Swallows those two goals. We then tried to come back into the game in the second half, we changed some positions and the structure a little bit in terms of build-up and it was much better then.
“But it was not enough. In the final third, we had a lot of opportunities to score. Usually, you have to score two or three times, but we didn’t and we lost the game. Last season, we had a good tournament [in the MTN8] and now we are out. It is very disappointing.”
The coach also refused to blame goalkeeper Richard Ofori, who committed an error for the second goal, while he should have done better in the first one as well, both from Ruzaigh Gamildien strikes.
“If you get a goal from a goalkeeper mistake, it is always unlucky and most of the time when the keeper makes a mistake, it is a goal,” he said.
“But we have to work. Ofori was out for a long time and he had good friendly games where he made excellent performances. Now it was not his day, but it is not easy for goalkeepers to come back after a long time.”
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