Ncikazi justifies Pirates’ boring game against SuperSport: It was end of their legs

Orlando Pirates laboured to a 1-0 win over SuperSport United in the Premier Soccer League played at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday night.

The game lacked the spark in most of the moments until youngster Mohau Nkota connected Karim Kimvuidi’s intelligent pass with 20 minutes to go. The win took the Sea Robbers to 59 points from the 26 league games played. 

The Buccaneers have also won 19 games, for the first time, in their Premier Soccer League era, which saw them finish behind Mamelodi Sundowns for the third time in a row. 

Why did Bucs struggle against the Swanky Boys?

The interim Pirates coach lauded the players for their zeal despite playing many games as opposed to many of the Premier Soccer League sides.

“Maybe the contribution of the substitutes that we made, I thought they contributed well today,” he said in his post-match interview.

“Now, subconsciously, what happened last week [when Bucs scored first and TS Galaxy scored at the end to get a draw], you are thinking, and when the team is playing game number 50, and you know that it was the end of their legs, they will give in. 

“But I’m proud of the boys, that they battled until the end. You could see when they threw in Samir Nurkovic, all their strikers. Now you knew what was going to happen, but I’m just proud of the team that today we could get these three points,” Ncikazi concluded.

Bucs will now play AmaZulu on Saturday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban before hosting Magesi FC at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.