Tinkler savours victory
Bucs deserved to beat Chiefs – coach
ORLANDO Pirates have been on the wrong end of so many dominant matches that they deserved to have one they did not control go their way, Bucs coach Eric Tinkler said after his side’s 2-0 Nedbank Cup firstround victory against Kaizer Chiefs.
Pirates had less possession and territory in the Soweto derby at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, but always looked the more dangerous team in the final third.
They used this to their advantage through a brace from Zimbabwean striker Tendai Ndoro in the 76th and 84th minutes.
“Chiefs had a lot of possession. We struggled with the marking. Our passing was poor, and they were stealing the ball off us easily,” Tinkler said afterwards.
“And I felt with the first goal that Tendai scored the momentum switched. They needed to take more risks, and we looked a lot better on the ball. We got the second and the confidence grew even more.
“But it was a very tough game that could have gone either way.
“We’ve been on the wrong side of many games, dominating possession and chances, and losing them. But where we tended to dominate this game was in terms of the opportunities created, and shots on target.”
Saturday’s victory kept Pirates’ trophy chances alive in 2015-16. Perhaps more importantly, Bucs are on something of a roll finally after a torrid season.
Pirates reached the Caf Confederation Cup final in December, but lost 2-1 on aggregate to Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel.
The effort of competing on the continent took its toll on Bucs’ domestic form, and they sagged to 12th place in the PSL at one stage.
They have had a good fortnight though. Successive league wins against Mpumalanga Black Aces and Bloemfontein Celtic have seen Pirates back in the top eight, in seventh.
And Bucs are into the Nedbank last-16 with a satisfying victory over their arch-rivals.
“I’m very happy with the result we’ve achieved against Chiefs. But more important is wanting to win trophies. That’s why I became a coach, and why I’m coach of Orlando Pirates,” Tinkler said.
“The big disappointment was getting all the way to the Confed final and then losing it. Just ahead of that we had to play Chiefs to try to get into another final [the Telkom Knockout], and unfortunately we couldn’t. Those are hard things to take.
“But what’s important is how you bounce back. It’s important that we’ve shown character. We’re getting stronger, which is good for me and good for the club. We can still finish the season on a positive. And it’s extremely important for us to finish as high as possible in the league.”
Ndoro, a bit-part player for much of this season, is fast becoming a Pirates fan favourite. The striker also scored a brace in the 3-1 win against Aces.
“We’ve always known Tendai has that ability to score goals. We see it every day in training,” Tinkler said.
“But I had spoken to him on many occasions that just scoring goals is not enough in the modern game.
“You’ve got to work extremely hard for the team defensively and offensively. That was an area of his game he needed to improve on, and he’s recognised that and is now doing it.
“Hence he deserves his opportunity to be in the starting lineup. But now it’s about remaining consistent.”
Pirates meet Jomo Cosmos in their next league match at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
