Abdeslam Ouaddou coach of Orlando Pirates during the Betway Premiership 2025/26 match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates at the FNB Stadium in Nasrec on the 28 February 2026 ©Sydney Mahlangu BackpagePix
Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou refused to respond to his Kaizer Chiefs ccounterpart Cedric Kaze’s comment that his team used dirty tactics during the Soweto derby on Saturday.
Kaze made a rather sarcastic reference to Pirates’ players collapsing to the turf in the second half, especially goalkeeper Sipho Chaine.
“I congratulate Pirates for the three points and for their tricks … falling down all the time. Their ‘keeper fell down five times and didn’t get substituted. It is an experience,” said Kaze.
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Asked for his response during the post-match conference, Ouaddou refused to be drawn into Kaze’s comment, saying he respects the Chiefs co-coach and all the coaches in the Premier Soccer League (PSL).
“When somebody is injured, what can we do? And I don’t want to respond. I respect all the coaches in the PSL,” said Ouaddou.
“Coaching is very hard, so we must respect each other, so I am not going to start arguing with my colleagues now. We played the game like we wanted to play it. We started like we wanted to start; the players respected the game plan.”
Ouaddou identifies key to win over Chiefs
Meanwhile, Ouaddou has highlighted the key factor that led his side to the convincing victory over Chiefs.
Goals from Tshepang Moremi, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa earned the Buccaneers a 3-0 win over the hapless Amakhosi outfit at the FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
“The spirit is still there, the team spirit, the fighting spirit of our team has been there for a while since the beginning of the season, and the aim to play some quality football as well is still there,” said Ouaddou.
“What changed today is the efficiency in the area of truth (final third). It means that in the finishing, we were spot on. I have to give credit to our boys.
“. I’m really happy, I’m a proud coach, I’m proud of my boys today. That is that kind of performance that I’m expecting from them, high level and playing with high ambition,” continued the Pirates coach.
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“We wanted to score early. And they did it. We played against a very good team, but the fact that we scored earlier, we put them under pressure in the first half and it helped us to develop our game.
“I can say that for me, it’s really a reference game. We have to build on that until the end of the season,” concluded Ouaddou.