Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou admitted he made some strange decisions in his starting XI as he tried to catch Kaizer Chiefs by surprise, and said this could have cost his team their 2-1 Betway Premiership Soweto derby win on Saturday.
Conceding his team were fortunate to go to halftime at 1-1, Ouaddou brought on Ghampani Lungu from the break at a packed FNB Stadium, shifted players around and changed strategy.
Bucs dominated the second half and, like Chiefs in the opening 45 minutes, could have scored more than Tshepang Moremi’s 56th-minute winner.
“I think this one I will take and this time I will not blame my players,” Ouaddou said.
"The one we have to blame for the first half is the coach.
“I got it wrong. I tried to surprise the opponent, making some tactical choices that were not spot on.
"So I think coach Ouaddou put his team in trouble in the first half.
“I could have cost the game. But sometimes you have to be honest.
"Thank God we came to half-time at 1-1 and it was time to make some tactical adjustments.
“We changed some players too, we put the players into their correct positions.
"We asked for movement from the players, especially in the middle and in terms of ball retention.
"And I think in the second half we were spot on.
“I think Chiefs had the opportunity to kill the game in the first half.
"They didn't take that opportunity. Then we killed them in the second half.”
Ouaddou said his young brigade, still new to the huge crowd and occasion of the derby, also showed nerves early on.
While conceding his initial errors, Ouaddou was delighted at how his team responded after the break.
He stressed Chiefs were not an easy team to beat, especially in a derby.
Ouaddou gave his backing to the job being done by Amakhosi’s under-pressure coaching staff.
“Seeing the game from [the touchline], this technical staff of Chiefs are doing a great job.
"We must let them work on implementing their game model.
“Chiefs have a very good team, very good young players. In my opinion, they are on the right path.”
Chiefs coach Fernando Da Cruz conceded his team did not kill the game off.
He also complained that Pirates “played with 12 players and not 11”, insisting they were favoured by refereeing decisions.
Da Cruz alleged Yanela Mbuthuma's 24th-minute opener was offside and that a Buccaneers player should have been red-carded.
Pule Mmodi equalised for Chiefs, capitalising on Bucs goalkeeper Sipho Chaine’s error.
Moremi’s winner came as Pirates dominated a second half in which Chiefs had defender Ignacio Miguel red-carded for a second bookable offence in the 91st minute.
“In the first half, the match should have been finished for two reasons,” Da Cruz said.
“First, our lack of efficiency — we should have been 2-0 or 3-0 up.
“Second, Pirates played with 12 and not 11 because the first goal was offside and then a Pirates player deserved a second yellow card, so we should have played as 11 against 10.”
