Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids have done their best since taking over as co-coaches from Josef Zinnbauer at the start of the season at Orlando Pirates.
However, their best was clearly not enough as the Buccaneers couldn’t deliver the CAF Confederation Cup even when it was there for the taking.
Some would suggest that the players should take the blame for Pirates’ 5-4 penalty shootout loss to RSB Berkane on Friday night while others would point fingers at the technical team.
For the longest time this season, a section of Pirates fans called for the management to appoint a new, permanent coach.
The club bosses, however, decided to be patient with both Ncikazi and Davids – but the latest defeat could spell the end of the coaching duo in their current positions
WHY NCIKAZI AND DAVIDS SHOULD TAKE BLAME FOR ORLANDO PIRATES’ DEFEAT
Pirates had Berkane against the ropes for the better part of 90 minutes, and they created four to five clear-cut goalscoring chances which they should have buried.
Of course, both Ncikazi and Davids had no control over Pirates’ poor finishing and their lack of decisiveness inside the Berkane penalty box.
However, Pirates completely lost the structure and organisation in the second half, and they did not look like a team playing to win the match.
And that’s where the coaches should have come in and brought in the required discipline in order to ensure that the team remained patient and true to their approach.
A few of Pirates’ substitutes didn’t help them either. In fact, they allowed Berkane to take the game to them – there was no synergy in midfield as the defenders kicked the ball forward aimlessly at times.
Again, the technical team led by Ncikazi and Davids needed to act and tell the players to calm down and not leave things as they were.
All the technical team was worried about after conceding early in extra time was to score the equalizer, and luckily, Pirates managed to get that goal through Thembinkosi Lorch.
A different coach with bigger responsibilities on their shoulders would have done things differently – from the approach to the execution to ensure that Pirates wrapped up the game and win the only trophy that was available to them.
