Orlando Pirates failed to get into the Caf Champions League final after losing 3-2 against Pyramids in the second leg of the semi-final played away, after the initial one had ended 0-0.
The Buccaneers, who have been doing well defensively, struggled to deal with crosses from their hosts. The defeat was the Sea Robbers” first in the almost concluding prestigious continental club competition.
South Africa international defender Tapelo Xoki has now explained where the Soweto giants went wrong in Egypt.
‘Pirates have to take the hard lessons'
“Yeah, you could say, we struggled a lot to deal with the crosses, I think all three of their goals come from crosses, we should have done better. We had numbers, we should have competed better but yeah, it's part of football,” he said as quoted by SABC Sport.
“We have to take the hard lessons as they are, we know playing against North Africans it's always gonna be high ball games, crosses, defending crosses and we've done a lot in the past defending those situations but yeah, today we got caught, which is unlike us, conceding three goals.
“A lot of lessons to take but we'll take this one on the chin as hard as it is and try to move forward with a positive attitude and positive mindset.”
‘I take full responsibility, but…'
Xoki, who captained the team in Cairo, has accepted full responsibility, but insists they should concentrate on their next assignments. On Saturday, they play Kaizer Chiefs in the Premier Soccer League's Soweto Derby before facing the same opponent in the Nedbank Cup final a week later.
“It's a tough one to take, we could have done better as a team, but yeah. I think as individuals we have to take accountability, but these things happen, it's part of football. Hopefully, we grow from this and continue to grow forward, finish the season strong, we still have a lot to play for,” he continued.
“There's no time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to continue. It's just a tough one to take because we had a lead twice, and both times we conceded right after we scored, so I think there we could have done better. As one of the leaders in the group, I take full accountability for that, but yeah, we'll grow from this,” the 30-year-old continued.
