Orlando Pirates coach Mandla Ncikazi says they should have put the game to bed after beating Al Ahli SC 2-0 in their first leg CAF Confederation Cup semi-final.
The Buccaneers, who came into the tie after losing to TS Galaxy 1-0 in the league, took a commanding position in the last-four clash with two away goals from Innocent Maela and Goodman Mosele.
While Ncikazi showered them with praise and hailed management for a seemly trip to Benghazi where they were prepared for the artificial surface, he admits they could have punished them further.
The Libyan giants who won Group A ahead of Pyramids and CS Sfaxien looked a shadow of the sides that’s earned them widespread plaudits across the continent this season and now face a mammoth task to overturn the tie for a potential place in the final.
“We played a very good team, this Tripoli team is a very good team – very good tactically, they can play direct, very skilful, but one must give credit to our players, I thought they applied themselves very well,” Ncikazi said in the post-match press conference on Sunday.
“We must think our team management too for all the logistical support, there’s a lot of people one could thank but I’m just very happy and proud of our team for the win away from home – it was important to score and get a result.”
He continued: “I thought we should have scored more goals, we applied ourselves well against a good team, I’m just proud of my team today that they came to the party and executed what we expected from them.
“I’m just greedy, we could have scored more goals so that we would know that we were settled but I’m gracious that we have two goals, we have to work with that and try and get into the finals by playing well at home.”
Should Pirates advance to the final, they will meet either TP Mazembe or RS Berkane – with the Linafoot giants currently holding a 1-0 advantage after the first leg in the DR Congo.
