Orlando Pirates coach Mandla Ncikazi says they should look at the bigger picture of the historic qualification for the CAF Confederation Cup final despite the second-leg defeat to Al Ahli.
Pirates lost 1-0 after an 89th-minute strike from substitute Ali Abu Arqoub but managed to secure a place in the final with a 2-1 aggregate victory thanks to their exploits in Benghazi last week.
The Buccaneers head coach paid homage to the squad and the supporters who came out in their numbers in cold and rainy conditions at Orlando Stadium to spur the team on to their second Confederation Cup final in their history.
“Let’s thank the players for taking the team into the final, let’s thank the supporters for coming today – the weather was not the best and one must be grateful,” Ncikazi said in the post-match press conference.
“It was a tough match, bigger picture we went into the final, could we have done it in a better or cleaner way? Yes but subconsciously you could see the scoreline that we had, the dynamics behind this match was affecting our team but we controlled the match well.
“Especially in the second half when we highlighted a few things at the break. You could see this team was playing without fear, throwing everything at us, I’m just proud that the team achieved the bigger goal. At the beginning of the competition, if you were to say Pirates were going to be in the final, one would have been grateful.
“Let’s take the bigger picture and work on the small elements that one picked up preparing for Nigeria which is going to be very tough.”
Pirates will now face TP Mazembe or RS Berkane in the final for the coveted honour next week Friday at the Godswil Akpagbio Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria.
☠️ UP THE BUCS ☠️
The players are nothing without the fans!
🎥 @Lorenz_KO pic.twitter.com/UO6Cs7oVIZ
— iDiski Times (@iDiskiTimes) May 15, 2022
