Ridiculed and called names after a recent drubbing by log-leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer can at least afford to smile again even though his critics would argue that a 3-0 win over a struggling and almost doomed Black Leopards doesn’t mean that the Buccaneers are world beaters.
Zinnbauer led Pirates back to fourth place after a commendable second half performance, which left Lidoda Duvha in all sorts of trouble following a brace by Tshegofatso Mabasa and a goal from Gabadinho Mhango at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Thursday evening.
“I think it was a game we controlled. In the first half a lot of chances. But in the second half we came out, we scored quick. We had to wait and controlled the game,” Zinnbauer remarked.
The manner in which Pirates players passed the ball among themselves pleased the German-born mentor.
“It was very good. It was calm, it moved the opponent a lot. I said again we had a lot of shooting on the goal, a lot of passing to the goal. But normally we had to score three or four. Top result, top performance,” Zinnbauer said.
Meanwhile, Lidoda Duvha coach Lehlohonolo Seema was left with a lump in his throat as he could see that Leopards are sinking deeper.
“It’s one of those games that we couldn’t do what we had agreed on. We were quite aware of the previous result they had,” Seema said.
“We saw that line-up and we emphasised that they were gonna have a lot of energy. They had a lot of players, who were fresh. They were sharper, they were quick off the movement. However, I think first half we worked. Second half we went off the boil, a story of our season.”
