Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer said his players may have been feeling the effects of their recent MTN 8 triumph as they struggled to break down a 10-man Chippa United side on Wednesday.
The Buccaneers ended a six-year trophy drought last Saturday when they hoisted the MTN 8 trophy after beating Bloemfontein Celtic 2-1 at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
On Wednesday, however, despite their opponents having been reduced to 10 men late in the first half, it took Pirates until the 86th minute to grab the winner in their 1-0 victory.
A goal from midfielder Fortune Makaringe was enough to give Pirates the three points on offer.
ZINNBAUER SAID HIS PLAYERS LOOKED ‘TIRED’
In a post-match interview, Zinnbauer said his players looked a bit tired from all the energy they expanded last weekend.
“It’s important we have three points,” Zinnbauer said.
“That was the target. We knew it was going to be a tough game. We came from the cup final. You saw today the players were tired and we didn’t have enough chances and then the opponent got a red card.
“It was clear they were going to use a deep block after the sending-off and it’s not easy to find a solution. We then had opportunities to score but it’s always so, if you don’t score, and we needed a goal.
“We then had a good moment, a good combination for the goal we scored but at the end of the day we have three points. It was not a top performance.
“We understand the psychology and things coming from the last game. We won the cup and it’s not easy to come back as a player. As a player I know it but as a coach you can’t understand why it’s so hard for us today.”
PIRATES ARE UNBEATEN AFTER 7 MATCHES
The win saw Pirates remain unbeaten after seven DStv Premiership matches this season – one of only four teams yet to taste defeat.
The Soweto giants jumped to third place in the standings after their victory.
Pirates’ league matches for the year are now complete, but they do have the first leg of their CAF Confederations Cup first round clash against Angolan side Sagrada Esperanca to play on Tuesday, December 22.
Kick-off at the Estádio dos Coqueiros in Lusaka is at 16:00 SA time.
