Pirates deserved to win against Arrows, claims Davids

It is a case of two points dropped, according to Orlando Pirates co-coach Fadlu Davids, who believes they had far better chances to win their DStv Premiership tie against Golden Arrows.

The game ended in a goalless draw at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.

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Pirates, however, didn’t really start the game well and looked like a team that would not be able to find the back of the net, but that was up until late in the second half, with some good chances falling for them, while Arrows had their fair share of chances.

The Bucs mentor believes his side deserved to be awarded a penalty towards the end of the game, where Arrows defender Lungelo Dube seemed to have handled the ball inside the box, but referee Jelly Chavani let the play continue.

“We only got into the game after 20 to 25 minutes. Not being able to put high pressure on the ball. W e got into the game in the second part of the first half and a really good second half. But, this is of course two points dropped with the amount of chances we created. We had to win this game looking at the overall display,” said Davids.

Davids believes that Pirates should have been awarded a penalty when the ball hit a Stellenbosch defender’s hand inside the box, but referee Jelly Chivani waved play on.

“These decisions don’t go our way, it is a clear penalty, I thought the hand was making the body bigger, it is a clear save like a goalkeeper saves. We don’t want to complain, everybody makes mistakes. But we have to score, even the chance with Kabelo Dlamini on the edge of the box. Normally, that is his area where he puts it in the top corner unfortunately he went for too much power.”

This was the first league match for the Soweto-based club this year, having played in the Nedbank Cup and the Caf Confederation Cup, where they registered victories in those games.

Pirates will now change focus to their continental campaign where they play Al-Ittihad of Libya in their second Group B game away from home on Sunday.