Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has refused to throw in the towel in the title race after dropping two points when they were held to 1-all draw by a stubborn Siwelele side at home on Saturday.
Siwelele struck first via Pirates’ old boy Vincent “Mashonisa” Pule, just a minute before the half-hour mark. Tshepang Moremi’s goal in the 51st minute ensured the Sea Robbers at least walked away with a point, though that dented their title aspirations as they are now only a point behind second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns, who have a game in hand.
Even so, Ouaddou is positive that they still stand a chance of winning what would be their maiden league title since the 2011/12 term. The Pirates coach reckoned Siwelele keeper Ricardo Goss’s brilliance on the day was a difference, dubbing him “Jesus Christ”.
“We just have to keep going and believe. We still have nine games to play and I think our boys did everything today. You could see that at the end of the game,” Ouaddou said.
“We have to give credit to the [Siwelele] goalkeeper. He was the man of the match. We didn’t have a goalkeeper today — we had Jesus Christ in goal.
“He saved everything. I don’t know what more my players could have done. They gave everything — they had shots on target and created chances. But we had a wall in goal. He saved his team today. He had a fantastic game."
Conversely, Siwelele coach Lehlohonolo Seema embraced the point at Orlando Amstel Arena, feeling it would go a long way in their attempt to escape relegation. Siwelele are five points away from the relegation zone.
“We know where we are and that we are relegation candidates. We want to move away from the red zone as quickly as possible. We are happy with the draw, and whether we are home or away — as long as we don’t lose matches,” Seema said.
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