Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has described the club’s failure to reach the CAF Champions League group stages as a sad moment for everyone involved.
Pirates were eliminated from the continental competition after a 5-4 defeat on penalties to St Eloi Lupopo in the second leg of the second preliminary round at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
The Buccaneers entered the match trailing 3-0 from the first leg in Congo. Backed by a sold-out crowd in Soweto, they produced a spirited fightback, with Masindi Nemtajela, Yanela Mbuthuma, and Oswin Appollis scoring to level the tie 3-3 on aggregate.
It was a heartbreaking conclusion for a Pirates side that reached the CAF Champions League semi-finals last season but lost to eventual winners Pyramids FC of Egypt, who went on to defeat Mamelodi Sundowns in the final.
“It was not enough because we had these penalties in the end. It’s part of the game,” said Ouaddou on SABC Sport after the game.
“I think the guys did the job. It was not easy to come back and score three goals, but we did it.
“I have nothing negative to say about the players — they were brave and showed fantastic behaviour for 90 minutes. It’s just sad for them because of the effort they gave.
“Everybody is sad, of course, because I think we deserved to go through. The best team didn’t win today, but congratulations to the opponent. We’ll keep working.
“It’s sad that such a big club won’t be in the Champions League group stages this season, but we have many challenges ahead, and we’ll focus on those.”
The match went straight to penalties, where Dion Hotto and Mbuthuma missed their spot-kicks for Pirates — with the latter sending his effort wide in sudden death. The young forward was left in tears as Pirates bowed out of the competition.
Meanwhile, Mamelodi Sundowns appear set to be South Africa’s only representatives in the CAF Champions League group stages after their commanding 5-1 first-leg win over Remo Stars of Nigeria last weekend. The second leg will be played in Pretoria on Sunday.
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