‘It’s a bitter pill to swallow’: Shandu after Pirates’ Cup exit

Being knocked out of the Nedbank Cup by Marumo Gallants came as a shocker for Orlando Pirates, with the club right wing back Bandile Shandu admitting that it is really painful to take the loss.

ALSO READ: Gallants stun Pirates to reach Nedbank Cup quarterfinals

Pirates lost on penalties to Gallants at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday night.

The game had to be decided on penalty shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 draw, as Shandu cancelled out Phillip Ndlondlo’s early goal from the penalty spot.

At the end, it would be Gallants who sauntered to the next stage of the tournament by winning 5-4 on penalties, thanks to the sudden death penalty scored by goalkeeper King Ndlovu.

Shandu reckons they didn’t deserve to lose the match after playing the way they did and bemoaned the lack of scoring goals after the team created so many chances.

“It is a bitter pill to swallow, I mean, when we play the way we did, dominating the game (and we still lose). We got so many opportunities and we did not convert. It is very painful to take, but, I guess we just have to focus on the next game and keep on going,” said the Bucs defender.

“I think we just need to stick together, we are playing very well. We are just not converting our chances because we are getting so many opportunities in the final third. I think once we start converting our chances we will start winning games and that’s what we need to do. So, we just need to stay together, keep focused and keep on working hard.”

The goal against Gallants for Shandu was his seventh goal for the club in all competitions and he is currently the club’s top scorer.

Pirates next take on Royal Leopards of eSwatini in the Caf Confederation Cup Group B clash at Orlando Stadium, a game where they will be aiming to bounce back to winning ways.