Wrong tactical approach cost Orlando Pirates against Raja – Mothibi

Wrong tactical approach and combinations that didn’t work cost Orlando Pirates a place in the semi-finals of the Caf Confederation Cup, says Pirates legend James Mothibi.

ALSO READ: Pirates humiliated by Raja in Confed Cup mauling

The Buccaneers saw their run in the continental tournament come to an end after losing 4-0 to Raja Casablanca in the second leg of the quarter-finals at Mohammed V Stadium in Morocco last Sunday.

The result took the final score-line over the two legs to 5-1 in favour of the North Africans.

“Combination passes didn’t work, also second balls got us exposed by Raja. Their midfielders were pressing very high, that’s why Raja scored with counter attacks and the mistakes by our defenders. Our centre-backs were adding into the midfield and ending up leaving people who are supposed to attack at the back, which was a very poor tactical approach,” says the former Bucs striker.

“Look it’s better when you play Innocent Maela at left-back and Wayde Jooste at right-back where he plays. Play with Thulani Hlatshwayo and deploy Nkanyiso Zungu at centre-back because he is comfortable on the ball and it will help in terms of build-ups from the back. In midfield, our defensive midfielders should be Ben Motshwari and Thabang Monare. Vincent Pule and Thembinkosi Lorch should play in front of them because they are creative. On the wings you play with speed.

“Throw Deon Hotto on the left and Gabadinho Mhango on the right and leave Tshegofatso Mabasa as the only striker.”

Mothibi believes Pirates could have done better by scoring the chances they created earlier in the match. But instead, the allowed Raja to dictate the tempo of the game and that’s what made Bucs to struggle.

“They failed in the opening 13 minutes. We missed three clear chances. Lastly Raja was playing with speed and there was no one at Pirates who was trying to slow down the pace of the game. The only way was to be comfortable on the ball and move Raja side to side for them to open up, If you watched the game, you would have noticed that every-time Pirates played the ball in the midfield, Raja would press our players with more than two players.”

With their journey in the Caf competition over, Bucs will change their focus to the remaining four league games with a clash against AmaZulu FC coming up at the Orlando Stadium on Thursday.