Orlando Pirates coach Zinnbauer admits fatigue had its say in Chippa United win

Orlando Pirates head coach Josef Zinnbauer felt that his charges were tired during their clash with Chippa United on Wednesday night.

The Soweto giants came into the PSL game as the favourites to win the match after clinching the MTN8 title with a 2-1 win against Bloemfontein Celtic over the weekend

However, Pirates had to dig deep to overcome ten-man Chippa 1-0 in an encounter which was played at the Mecca of South African football, Orlando Stadium. 

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“It’s important we have three points. That was the target. We knew it was going to be a tough game,” Zinnbauer told SuperSport TV. 

“We came from the cup final. You saw today the players were tired and we didn’t have enough chances and then the opponent got a red card.

“It was clear they were going to use a deep block after the sending-off and it’s not easy to find a solution.”

The Chilli Boys played the entre second-half with 10 players after Sandile Mthethwa was sent off in the last minute of the first half. 

Zinmbauer admitted that it was not a good performance by the Buccaneers as they were frustrated by the visitors until Fortune Makaringe netted Pirates’ late winning goal.

“We then had opportunities to score but it’s always so if you don’t score, and we needed a goal,” he continued. 

“We then had a good moment, a good combination for the goal we scored but at the end of the day, we have three points. It was not a top performance.”

“We understand the psychology and things coming from the last game. We won the cup and it’s not easy to come back as a player,” he added. 

“As a player, I know it but as a coach, you can’t understand why it’s so hard for us today.”

It was Pirates’ last league match of the year and they will now focus on their upcoming Caf Confederation Cup first round first-leg match against Sagrada Esperanca.

The Buccaneers will be away to Esperanca on December 22, before hosting the Angolan side on January 6.