Bucs grab advantage in Caf Cup
ORLANDO Pirates have one foot in the group stages of the Caf Confederation Cup, said coach Eric Tinkler after his side’s 2-0 first-leg win over AS Kaloum in searing heat in Bamako, Mali, on Friday evening.
Goals from Thamsanqa Gabuza in the fifth minute and Oupa Manyisa in the 73rd earned Pirates the lead against the team from Guinea, in a match played at a neutral venue because of the threat of Ebola.
The Buccaneers will be confident of defending and most likely adding to their lead in the second leg at Orlando Stadium in three weeks.
“Obviously we’re very happy with the result and the performance was very, very good,” Tinkler said from Bamako yesterday. “We knew they were a good team offensively. [Bucs goalkeeper] Brighton Mhlongo made some good saves and the defence — Happy Jele, Siyabonga Sangweni, all the guys — kept things tight.
“The first goal by Gabuza set- tled the nerves. We had a chance just before that, when Sifiso Myeni was in space on the right but couldn’t play a good cross to Lehlohonolo Majoro.
“Gabuza hasn’t had much game time but he did very well. I started with him and Majoro upfront. He got the goal, with Majoro providing the assist. Majoro also provided the assist for Oupa’s goal.
“We had two more great chances in the second half, to Gabuza and then Kermit Erasmus right at the end.
“We did our homework and knew Kaloum’s strengths and weaknesses. They have some big, physical players, they’re very aggressive and good in attack, but not too well organised defensively. We kept it tight, and when we got the ball just tried to move it as quickly as we could.”
Tinkler said conditions were good in Bamako, apart from the heat.
“The crowd was not very big, being a neutral venue. There were no issues with the referee. The pitch was in a decent condition, it was just the heat that was ridiculous,” the Bucs coach said.
“It was about 38 degrees, hot as hell and I felt sorry for the guys having to play in that. But they really worked their socks off to get the result.
“Now we’ve got one foot in the group stage. Kaloum need to come to Orlando and score three goals. We know we need to be organised early on, don’t let them score an early goal.”
Kaloum qualified for the Confed Cup as one of the teams exiting in the second round of the Caf Champions League.
Pirates reached the penultimate round before the group stage with victories against Uganda Revenue Authority (4-3 on aggregate) and Gabon’s CF Mounana (5-2).