Pirates coach happy with centre-back pairing of Nyauza and Ndah
Orlando Pirates caretaker co-coach Fadlu Davids says he is happy for the players after the Buccaneers scored three unanswered goals in their demolition of Stellenbosch in a Premiership match on Wednesday.
The Cape Town-born former striker said Pirates have been playing well and deserve more than the 18 points they have from 12 matches.
“It was important for the players because the performances have been good but not getting the results we wanted and not scoring the goals we wanted,” Davids said after Pirates went into the match on the back of of a single win in seven league games.
Stellenbosch’s defence looked suspect in the match, but Davids said his team was able to find the back of the net because they were on the money on the day, as Collins Makgaka and a Deon Hotto brace sealed maximum points at Danie Craven Stadium.
“In terms of our mindset we said that the harder you work the luckier you become. The players put in the hard work and got three goals.”
Ntsikelelo Nyazu played his second successive match since returning from a long-term injury and kept another clean sheet alongside young Nigerian centreback partner Olisa Ndah, who was unlucky to have his goal disallowed.
Davids waxed lyrical over the abilities of the Nigerian defender who joined Pirates at the beginning of the season.
“Ndah is quite dominant in the air. I’m not sure what happened [with the disallowed goal], but it was just unfortunate for him in terms of scoring his first goal for Pirates. But it will come.
“He is a dominant force, not only in attacking set pieces but also defensively. He is really doing well with the partnership now with Nyauza.”
Pirates’s achilles heel has been their inconsistency, which has led them to four wins, two defeats and a seven draws in 13 matches.
“I am happy with the performance especially in the first 15 minutes of the game,” said Davids.
“We normally dominate the first 30 minutes of our matches, but today the difference was that we were able to score during our dominant periods.”
The win will give the players a spring in their step as they travel to West Africa to face Liberia’s LPRC Oilers in the first leg of their Caf Confederation Cup playoff in Paynesville, outside Monrovia, on Sunday.
Pirates will return home and look to build momentum when they host struggling Baroka at Orlando Stadium on December 2.