Johannesburg – Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler said his team had ‘a dream start, then we fell asleep,’ after their 3-1 Premiership victory over Polokwane City on Saturday night.
“The game could not have started in better fashion with the goal scored by Mpho Makola in only the first minute,” Tinkler said.
“But deep into the second half instead of retaining possession and turning defence into attack, there was a great deal of static play in our make-up and this played into Polokwane City’s hands, while not putting enough pressure on their defence.”
Pirates were 3-0 up at half-time at the Orlando Stadium, with the opposition having grabbed their only goal two minutes into the second period.
Polokwane coach Kosta Papic bemoaned the way in which they lost to the Buccaneers.
“The lesson will be learnt and not repeated. I’m not sure if the second goal by Kermit Erasmus was offside.
“This for me was the decisive moment in the game. While we were trailing by a single goal.
City’s never-say-die attitude caught Pirates’ defence napping with a close-range goal from Tshepo Tema.
The goal seemed to instil fresh belief and vigour into the Limpopo-based outfit after Oupa Manyisa had made the score 3-0 from the penalty spot.
Pirates however, held on to extend their unbeaten record in the league to seven games, with five wins and two draws.
In fourth position, the Sea Robbers though remain 12 points behind log leaders Kaizer Chiefs.
– Sapa