Bucs were simply unlucky in an encounter which saw Zinnbauer’s side hit the woodwork twice in the second-half
Orlando Pirates were left to rue their missed chances after drawing 0-0 with Al Ahli Benghazi in the Caf Confederation Cup Group A match at Martyrs of February Stadium on Sunday night.
The Buccaneers were determined to record a win which would take them to the top of the group standings and also return to winning ways after losing 2-1 to Kaizer Chiefs on March 21.
Coach Josef Zinnbauer recalled Wayne Sandilands, Fortune Makaringe, Terrence Dzvukamanja and Frank Mhango to the starting line-up as he made four changes to the team which faced Chiefs.
On the other hand, the Butchers were looking to make it two wins in a row in the group stage having edged out ES Setif 1-0 in their last competitive match on March 17.
Libya international Murad Al-Wuheeshi started in goal, while Jibreel Alwadawi, who scored against Setifi led the attack as coach Dejan Arsov looked to mastermind a win over Pirates.
Pirates started slowly and this allowed Al Ahli to push forward in numbers and they threatened first when Alwadawi forced goalkeeper Sandilands into a fine save.
The Buccaneers grew into the match and Mhango began tormenting the Butchers’ defence with his blistering runs and he was also sharing free-kick responsibility with Vincent Pule.
Mhango was denied twice by Al-Wuheeshi from set-pieces with the Al Ahli shot-stopper well-positioned to make a save on both occasions with the hosts committing a lot of fouls near their box.
Al-Wuheeshi also pushed away a shot from Pule, who was looking to score from a set-piece as Pirates applied some pressure on Al Ahli with the half-time break approaching.
The score was 0-0 at the interval following a first-half which saw Pirates start slowly before growing in confidence as the game progressed, but they could not take their chances from their set-pieces.
Pirates began the second-half brightly and they were unlucky not to open the scoring when Ben Motshwari’s long-range shot beat Al-Wuheeshi, but the crossbar came to the hosts’ rescue.
Zinnbauer introduce Tshegofatso Mabasa just after the hour-mark and the bulky centre forward tried to make an immediate impact when he forced by Al-Wuheeshi into a decent save with a header.
The visitors kept pushing for the opening goal with Mhango being superbly denied by Al-Wuheeshi, who was proving to be a big obstacle for the Buccaneers on the night.
Al Ahli then pushed for a late winning goal, but Sandilands pulled off two good saves to deny Mohamed Fathe and Alwadawi, but the last chance of the game fell for Mhango in stoppage time.
The Malawi international’s well-taken shot beat Al-Wuheeshi, but once again the Soweto giants were denied by the woodwork and ultimately, the encounter ended in a 0-0 draw.
The result saw Pirates remain second on the group standings – a point behind leaders, Enyimba with three matches left as the battle to reach the quarter-finals continues.
Pirates will now host Al Ahli on April 11, while Nigerian giants Enyimba will be away to Algerian side ES Setif on the same day.
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