Abdeslam Ouaddou coach of Orlando Pirates during the Betway Premiership 2025/26 match between Orlando Pirates and Siwelele FC at the Orlando Amstel Arena in Soweto on the 14 March 2026 ©Sydney Mahlangu BackpagePix
Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou is banking on Richards Bay FC to do them a favour by taking points off Mamelodi Sundowns in the final stages of the title race.
This comes after Pirates missed out on the opportunity to go top of the Betway Premiership table when they were held to a 2-2 by the Natal Rich Boyz at the Richards Bay Stadium on Friday.
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Following the draw, the Buccaneers remained second on the log with 55 points, one point behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, who have a game in hand.
With Sundowns still to play Bay later this month, Ouaddou is hoping that they will do them a favour by beating the Brazilians.
“I hope so. It’s a team that has great character and good organisation. What is important is the fighting spirit and fitness level that they have. I think it’s one of the best teams in the PSL,” said Ouaddou.
“They are also professional and winners at heart. Of course, we are going to watch those games closely. But for us, it is to just keep fighting until the last second. We do not have the chance to be pessimistic. If I had to find positivity, the point can help us.”
Ouaddou not giving up on title
Even though he has not given up hope on winning the league, Ouaddou admits that the draw against Bay made things more difficult for them to win it.
Ouaddou, however, is still optimistic that they still have a chance to clinch the league title.
“Things will become difficult for the rest of the league, but nothing is impossible. When I’m telling you that it will be difficult, it means that we still have a small chance to dream,” said Ouaddou.
“When you have many games in a short period, you cannot give up
“We are going to give some rest to our boys because we played two games in a short space of time. After that, we will come back and fight.
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“We have an important game soon. It’s not easy to challenge, but I think that the boys have done a fantastic job since the beginning of the season. We cannot throw away what they did from the start of the season,” concluded Ouaddou.
Pirates’ next game is against AmaZulu at home at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Saturday.
