WATCH | Ouaddou urges beaten Bucs to regroup

Following their exit from the CAF Champions League after losing on penalties to Saint Eloi-Lupopo on Saturday, a disappointed Orlando Pirates coach, Abdeslam Ouaddou, has urged the team to regroup and focus on the upcoming competitions.

Pirates were eliminated in the second preliminary round despite staging a 3-0 comeback win at Orlando Stadium against Lupopo after Yanele Mbuthuma missed the last penalty. Lupopo went through after winning 5-4 on penalties after the Buccaneers had scored three goals in the match from Masindi Nemtajela, Mbuthuma and Oswin Appollis to level 3-3 on aggregate following their 3-0 defeat in the first leg last week.

They will now switch their focus to the Carling Knockout quarterfinal, where they will face Magesi at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday, while they will also look to push for the Betway Premiership title.

“I’m very sad for the players and the club as well because the best team didn’t go to the [next] stage of the Champions League, but at the same time, it is the reality of football; we have to congratulate the opponents because they played with their weapons,” Ouaddou told the media during the post-match press conference.

“But I repeat, the best team didn’t go through the stages of the Champions League. We’ve got to keep on working because we have a lot of challenges this season.”

After reaching the semifinal of the Champions League and looking at the squad they’ve assembled this season, Ouaddou said he understood supporters’ disappointment, but that they must continue to have faith in the squad.

We’ve got to keep on working because we have a lot of challenges this season.

—  Pirates coach, Abdeslam Ouaddou

“When you are supporting Orlando Pirates and you love the club, there are a lot of expectations from the fans, and they can be disappointed,” he said.

“But at the same time, I think they’ve seen how the boys have been fighting since the first minute and how they deal with the game. The football team that they have proposed today [Saturday] can have some trust and confidence in the future.

“Of course, I can understand their [fans’] disappointment because everybody wanted us to go through; we did our best, and the best team didn’t go through to the next stage.”

Ouaddou also revealed what he said to Mbuthuma after he missed the last penalty.

“The first player that I saw just after the game was him. I went quickly on the pitch to tell him to chin up and be proud of what he did.

“When he came on, he scored a goal. Without him, we could have lost the game before. He is still young; there are still many competitions this season, and he will be essential for us.”