Orlando Pirates caretaker coach Rhulani Mokwena felt there were “a lot of positives” to take away from his side’s performance in a 0-0 draw with AmaZulu on Tuesday night.
The Buccaneers went into the Premiership encounter looking to halt a three-match losing streak in all competitions and while they weren’t able to find a way past an obstinate AmaZulu defence, they did manage to pick up a hard-fought point in Umlazi.
Mokwena highlighted a number of factors that gave him cause of optimism, and declared himself proud of their performance.
“A lot of positives, we stuck to the game plan,” Mokwena told SuperSport TV. “I said before the match that we’re looking for balance and we were more balanced.
He continued: “A lot more tactical discipline, we controlled the ball for most parts of the game, we also controlled the space.
“We tried to find the balance between the two, because we’ve had major problems with that.
“But positive, a point away from home, a clean-sheet which is important because we’ve conceded far too many goals over the last couple of matches.
“So there’s a lot more positives than negatives. A lot more stabilisation and we move on.”
Mokwena also praised the grit and determination shown by his players, adding: “We can be proud of these ones, Orlando Pirates is not just rich in terms of the quality we possess, but look at the character, the amount of fight they put in. The courage, the never-say-die attitude. It’s unbelievable.
“It’s unfortunate at the beginning of the second half we lost a bit of control and we lost a little bit of balance, but you can’t fault the effort.
“We are so proud of these players, when the Buccaneers watch such a spirited performance, especially because it’s so easy to give up after such difficult results and in a difficult moment, they still put their heads up and put on their fighting boots and they gave their all for the badge.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s enormous credit. The Buccaneers must be proud of their players,” he concluded.