Title race not over, insists Pirates’ Ouaddou after Sundowns defeat

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou insists that the title race is not over after his side suffered a 2-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in their Betway Premiership clash at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Brazilians victory saw them close the gap on log leaders Pirates to just three points, and they still have a game in hand over the Buccaneers.

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Despite the setback, Ouaddou remains confident that his team can still win the league title this season.

“You know, in football, if you ask me that question when [there are] five games, I would agree with you, but with the number of games we still have, anything can happen,” said Ouaddou.

” And 13 games, I think, I have to say, 13 or 14 games.

“For me, we still have to work to give everything because you can have many surprises in football, and we have to fight until the end of the league. This is the message that I want to give.

“This is the message that I want to give, the PSL is a very good league with good teams, and we wanted to avoid this scenario, but it happened and it’s not the end of the world, we have to keep working and keep believing,” added the Moroccan.

Ouaddou refuses to blame players

Meanwhile, Ouaddou refused to blame his players for switching off while referee Jelly Chavani allowed play to continue following a penalty appeal. Pirates players were still appealing for a penalty when Brayan Leon opened the scoring for Sundowns in the 37^th minute. for a for a foul on Maswanganyi inside the box

“The players today gave their best, of course we created chances again, but I don’t have anything today to reproach them, they all gave their best, especially in the second half to try and come back.

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“If we have to help them, since the referee didn’t stop the game, the lesson is to keep working and keep focussing on the game, there’s nothing more I can say about that,” commented Ouaddou.

Following the loss to Sundowns, Sundowns will now change their focus to Saturday’s Nedbank Cup last 16 clash against Casric Stars at the Orlando Stadium.