The Pirates coach watched his team narrowly escape defeat at home and feels that they were not sharp in the final third
Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer has admitted that his side did not invest enough effort to claim maximum points in Saturday’s 1-1 Premier Soccer League (PSL) draw against Baroka FC at Orlando Stadium.
It was the third league draw this season for the Buccaneers who had to come from behind to salvage a draw via substitute Tshegofatso Mabasa’s injury-time equaliser after Baroka had taken the lead through Ananias Gebhardt.
Following the equaliser which showed some fighting spirit, Zinnbauer is, however, not too happy with their finishing, which denied his side to jump to second spot on the table.
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“I think in the first half we had the game what we want, we dominated, we were playing in one half. I think the opponent did not have one chance in the first-half but we did not have enough chances,” Zinnbauer told SuperSport TV.
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“This is what we have, on ball possession, on possibilities to score, the final pass was not too aggressive in this game, we need more solutions in the box.
“Second-half, two minutes or so, we [conceded] this easy goal but it’s always so when a keeper makes a mistake then in the most of time it’s a goal, we had the chance to score.
“We’re not happy with the score, we’re not happy with the second-half but we’re happy with the fight. The belief always is okay, we have the chance we can score, we did this but it’s not enough for three points.”
After conceding Gebhardt’s goal two minutes into the second half, Zinnbauer responded by introducing forwards Frank Mhango, who was coming from injury, and Mabasa, who then grabbed their crucial goal for a second successive weekend.
In seeking creativity, Zinnbauer threw in Deon Hotto and Collins Makgaka for Terrence Dzvukamanja and Nkanyiso Zungu.
“We needed goals and we needed [an offensive] player, then it’s not normal in the second half, the opponent is ahead and we get counter-attacks,” said Zinnbauer.
“But we have to do this risk, we have to do bring the offensive player on the field and you work offensively much better than before. You get more opportunities in the box and I’m happy we scored in the end of time. A point is a point, it’s not enough for us but it’s a point.”
Pirates now shift focus to next weekend’s league visit to Cape Town City as they seek to stay in touch with leaders Mamelodi Sundowns who are four points better off than them.
