Maduka rues ‘cheap’ goal conceded against Orlando Pirates

Royal AM side went on a six-game unbeaten streak following their 1-1 draw with Orlando Pirates at the Orlando Stadium on Thursday night.

But coach John Maduka believes things could have been different had they not conceded a “cheap” goal against Pirates.

The club from KwaZulu-Natal had a good start into the game after scoring first, courtesy of Levy Mashiane, but they couldn’t hold on to their lead going into half-time, as Linda Mntambo equalised for the Buccaneers, but the Thwihli Thwahla coach was content to have secured a point away from home.

“It was a very tricky game, we started very slow. We made mistakes losing possession unnecessarily, our decision making was not right. But as the game progressed, we got better and better until we got that goal. After that, we still couldn’t keep the ball well as we lost possession. We gave the ball away, it’s not like us, and we are not a team that loses the ball that cheaply. But, we were playing against one of the best teams in the country,” said Maduka.

“So, yeah, we conceded that goal that was not supposed to be there, we were supposed to defend better, position ourselves better. But we gave a goal away, we strongly believe if we didn’t concede that goal the opponents were going to open up trying to take the game forward. I think we were going to be able to score more goals. But that didn’t happen, we are happy with a point and we are looking forward to the next game.”

Royal have enjoyed a very bright start to their maiden season in the top tier of South African football. They have 14 points in the bag from eight league matches, having registered four wins, four draws and two losses.