Brandon Truter questions why Orlando Pirates defender was not sent off

Published on by Joel Oliver, updated on

Richards Bay coach Brandon Truter has questioned whether Orlando Pirates defender Thabiso Sesane should have been sent off during their PSL clash on Sunday.

Sesane escaped a harsher punishment when he was shown a yellow card for fouling Justice Figuareido while he was through on goal with observers feeling that he denied the Richards Bay forward a goalscoring opportunity which should have yielded a red card.

Richards Bay then frustrated Pirates with their goalkeeper Ian Otieno pulling off a number of top saves until Kabelo Dlaimi’s brilliant freekick eight minutes from time won it for the Buccaneers.

Orlando Pirates players celebrate Kabelo Dlaminis goal against Richards Bay. Photo Orlando Pirates

What does Truter think of Sesane’s foul?

“I think we should’ve gotten something from the game. I think we were composed and stable throughout,” Truter told the media.

“We had a run-through on the goal with Justice Figuareido in the first half. He was brought down, I’m not sure if it’s a red card and then Sibanyoni had a one-on-one with the keeper in the first half as well. We should’ve gone to half-time with something.

“Second half, we were still safe, and we were still organised; they found it difficult to penetrate. Yes, there was a big chance for them which Otieno made a double save on but other than that we managed this well.”

Richards Bay have been undone by set-pieces

The tactician watched his team concede a set-piece for the second game running and while he is disappointed that they did not win, he is happy with the level of performance.

“It was a set-play today, it was a set-play against Chippa as well, it takes something special to break us down, but we had to re-adjust because of the goal to look for something we can get from the game,” he added.

Pirates recorded a third straight win in the league to maintain their unbeaten start and stay level on points with Mamelodi Sundowns, the only other team with three wins in the PSL so far. 

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Joel Oliver

Joel Oliver is a seasoned multimedia sports journalist with a rich background in covering diverse football stories and events in South Africa and beyond.
His extensive coverage spans subjects touching on the PSL, with a focus on the Big Three (Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs & Mamelodi Sundowns), Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana.