Pirates' assistant-coach Mhlongo apologises for drubbing as technical team changes expected

Orlando Pirates’ assistant-coach Benson Mhlongo said he could not blame Bucs’ players for their dismal 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday‚ but did apologise to the team’s fans for the embarrassment.

Pirates have called a press conference for Monday‚ and speculation is that the Soweto giants will name changes to their technical staff to prevent their season sliding even further into disarray.

Bucs conceded six goals for the second time in the 2016-17 Premier Soccer League season.

Their 6-1 defeat against SuperSport United at Mbombela Stadium equaled their record loss and led to the resignation of coach Muhsin Ertugral the following morning.

A rampant Downs broke that record as Bucs’ insipid performance led to fury from their fans‚ a pitch invasion and on-field violence that was broken up by a police armoured vehicle‚ stun grenades and teargas.

Pirates’ caretaker-coach Augusto Palacios could not even return to the field after the chaos that erupted following Percy Tau’s devastating 82nd-minute sixth strike for Downs.

Nor could he face the media in the post-match press conference‚ where Mhlongo had to address the briefing.

“He was not feeling well. Remember‚ Palacios has loved this team with his whole heart. So for him to get six goals won’t sit well with him

• READ MORE: Pitch invasion‚ ugly fights and stun grenades break up Sundowns-Pirates PSL match An 82nd-minute pitch invasion by fans of Orlando Pirates‚ sparked by Mamelodi Sundowns’ Percy Tau scoring a sixth unanswered goal led to scenes of chaos‚ punch-ups‚ apparent injuries and teargas fired in Saturday’s Premier Soccer League match at Loftus Versfeld.

“He has been here for years now‚ so he was not feeling well at all‚” Mhlongo said‚ explaining Palacios’s absence from the field for the final eight minutes of the game once play resumed.

Mhlongo refused to blame Pirates’s players for the thrashing.

“Look we can’t blame the boys. Sundowns were good on the day and they deserved to win.”

Asked what Bucs could say to their fans‚ Mhlongo replied: “To say sorry – what else can you say. And we can say sorry with the mouth‚ but the next game should say sorry to them by winning it.

On how Pirates‚ now firmly entrenched in the bottom half of the table in 10th place‚ can somehow rescue their season‚ Mhlongo said: “Look when you’re down‚ you can’t fall any more. The only thing you can do is to stand up and move forward.

“Six goals in one game is not acceptable‚ never mind two. But what can you do? All you can do is move forward for our supporters‚ to say sorry.

“If your house is burnt down you must use cement and rebuild it.”

Bucs gave debuts in defence to left-back Marc van Heerden and centreback James Okwuosa. The latter particularly had a torrid first game in a Bucs jersey.

“We thought Van Heerden has more quality than [Thembela] Sikhakhane‚” Mhlongo said of the decision to field the new players.

“Obviously today they didn’t play that well. But we acquired them because we believe in them.”

Mhlongo said Pirates showed character coming back for the final eight minutes and pushing to score a consolation goal.

“It shows humbleness and courage and being apologetic to the supporters to come out and still try at least to get a goal back.

“For me‚ I’m proud of the boys to have come back out after such a tragic moment where we had supporters fighting‚ and trailing by six goals.

“So credit to them. At least they are man enough to stand up for what’s happening.”

Bucs will surely face a heavy fine from the PSL for the conduct of their fans at Loftus.

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport