The Buccaneers were frustrated by Usuthu throughout the night in Durban and the German tactician is not happy with the winless start to the campaign
Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer says his side was “too casual” and were their own worst enemies in Saturday’s 1-1 Premier Soccer League (PSL) draw against AmaZulu at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium.
Frank Mhango thrust the Soweto giants ahead from the penalty spot 18 minutes into the match after a controversial call by referee Abongile Tom.
But Lehlohonolo Majoro hit back for AmaZulu after pouncing on a rebound of his initially saved penalty.
It was a winless start to the season for Pirates as Zinnbauer’s highly-regarded men failed to break down a stubborn Usuthu.
“We know AmaZulu have a good team. It’s not easy [playing against them]. We can’t expect to come here and get the three points for nothing,”Zinnbauer told SuperSport TV.
“We have to work on this. For me, the key we had the game, we scored. And after we scored, we were too casual. And that was very hard for us to come back in to the game after the break.
“The second half is the style we wanted, what we have to do, what needed to work on. But we needed more chances, we needed more goals to win the game. First half, not good for me, second half better. And we have work ahead.”
Zinnbauer feels the draw did not come as a result of AmaZulu’s brilliance to contain his star-studded side following some good signings, but says his men were just not up for it.
Even after bringing in five substitutes in the second half, the German says the men he introduced did not give enough.
“The problem was not the opponent, the problem was ourself,” said Zinnbauer.
“We did not have a normal build-up, not enough self-confidence, yes you can lose the ball, but we have too many turnovers and it was too easy. That’s the problem. Second half, we were more concentrated.
“It’s not easy, you have a bad first half and you come back and have a good half. But it’s not enough. We have a point, yes, but for me, we didn’t have enough chances to win the game.
“We need players on the bench that bring in a freshness, new performance and new ideas and I’m happy we have this but today it was not enough.”
While Zinnbauer is ruing dropping two points, his opposite number Ayanda Dlamini was content with gaining a point.
The youthful coach hailed his side for frustrating Pirates but decried his side’s poor finishing.
“For me it’s a good point. We played very good possession football against Orlando Pirates, they are a quality side. They dominated in some stages but we also had our moments,” said Dlamini.
“I liked the intensity in our attack but I think we did not make the right decisions in the final third. We got so many chances that, had we made the right pass [we could have scored]. But again, I think we kept the ball very well which is what we wanted. If they don’t have the ball, we knew they would be frustrated.
“So we kept the ball and found spaces in between their lines. And also the ball behind their full backs because they are very high up in advanced positions. We got those moments like I said. We we got in the final third we would have made better decisions to get goals.
“We had a few chances from [Luvuyo] Memela, the header which was unlucky to go in. We can take the positives from this game but there is a lot to work on.”
AmaZulu now prepare to visit TS Galaxy in their next match while Pirates host Stellenbosch as they seek their first win of the season.
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