Magesi goalkeeper Elvis Chipezeze has earned special praise from Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou after his sensational performance in their Carling Knockout Cup quarter final.
The Zimbabwe international has secured six Man of the Match awards – every game the reigning champions has played in the competition since their promotion to the top-flight, which also equates to R600,000 in prize money for the veteran.
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Against Pirates, he made six saves alone in the first half, with the game goalless at the break and leaving the home side, and their supporters visibly frustrated at Orlando Stadium, but Ouaddou said it didn’t change their game plan coming out in the second half.
“First of all, I’d like to congratulate the goalkeeper [Chipezeze] he did a fantastic job, because without him, we could have come to half-time with maybe five or six goals, but it didn’t change my approach,” he explained.
“It didn’t change my game plan either, we just continued to push, just to bring more numbers in the box, the problem in the first half, when we reached the box, everybody, all my front line, was in the same line, what is important to score goals is occupying strategic areas in the box.
“We have seen in the data that 85% of the goals are scored when you cross from inside the box and it’s very important to occupy the first post, far post, penalty spot and the edge of the 18, so we tried to rectify that, it’s very important.
“If all the players are in the same lines, the ball arrives in the same area, so you can’t score, you need to give more probabilities, more chances to the strikers, if you occupy the box well, there’s more chances to score, but yeah their keeper was fantastic, I had to congratulate him.”
Pirates joined Richards Bay and Golden Arrows in the last-four, while Marumo Gallants host Stellenbosch on Wednesday evening for the final spot.
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