Pirates coach Ncikazi points finger at referees after Swallows draw

Following their draw with Swallows FC in the Soweto derby on Tuesday, Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi accused the referees of bad officiating in the game.

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Pirates, who played to a 1-1 draw with Swallows at the Dobsonville Stadium, saw their early lead courtesy of Bandile Shandu being cancelled out by Ruzaigh Gamildien from a spot-kick after both goals were scored in the first half.

Ncikazi wasn’t happy with the way things unfolded for his team and believes Pirates deserved maximum points on the night.

“I thought we deserved all the points, I know we played in patches, scored early in the match and subconsciously moved back, which was not the plan. But having said that, I thought we had the better of the chances, I know Swallows created a few. But good saves from our keeper, that is his job. But I am just disappointed that we are not ruthless in front of goal, we miss that decision, we miss that shot. And then you end up in a stalemate like this. It’s not the only match.

“What becomes worse is that the refereeing doesn’t assist you. I think in the past matches the refereeing and officiating has been very bad for Pirates, I don’t know the reasons. I hope it improves, we can’t be subjected to such bad decisions week in, week out.”

The result saw the Buccaneers claiming their ninth draw of the season, and they are second team in the league with the most number of draws in their last 16 matches, behind AmaZulu FC, who have registered 12 draws in 17 games.

Pirates remain in third place in the league standings, with 24 points in the bag.

Ncikazi will be hoping his troops up their game and put on their goal-scoring boots for their next league fixture, against log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Friday.