Pirates coach Ouaddou sees positives in NEOM defeat
· Citizen
Orlando Pirates may have fallen narrowly to NEOM SC, but head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou believes the team’s performance in Spain offered enough encouraging signs to build on ahead of the new season.
The Buccaneers ended their tour of Spain in defeat, going down 1-0 to Saudi outfit NEOM in a friendly match at the Estepona Football Center on Friday.
Visit umafrika.club for more information.
Former West Ham forward Saïd Benrahma scored the winner for NEOM through a free kick in the 31st minute.
“I think in general we got the objective that we came here for. We came here to create a cohesion with the players and to integrate the new players and at the same time to work and prepare for the first match of the PSL,” Ouaddou told the Pirates media.
“I can say that we achieved most of the targets and we go back with some positives, but on the other hand I must say there’s an area of concern that I’m not so happy about. The area where we have conceded too many goals. We have to quickly fix that area before the first game.
“The fitness target has been met because we went to phase three and we reached it. When we arrive back in Johannesburg, we will go to phase four of the preparations because the sharpness of the guys is close to the intensity of the league,” added Ouaddou.
Pirates begin their Betway Premiership title defence with a clash against newly-promoted Milford FC at the Orlando Stadium on Saturday, 1 August.