Pirates coach reveals message to Lorch

Orlando Pirates shrugged off the disappointment of losing the CAF Confederations Cup final last weekend in emphatic style with a 4-1 thrashing of Maritzburg United.

The Buccaneers were in fine form as Thembinkosi Lorch inspired a masterclass with a goal and three assists at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The result sees Pirates retain their hopes of returning to the continent, with the final CAF Champions League qualifying spot still within their reach.

Though Bucs co-coach Mandla Ncikazi felt they should have had more balls in the back of the net, he reserved special praise for Lorch, who came under fire for missing a crucial penalty in the shootout defeat to Moroccan outfit RS Berkane last Friday.

"We have to be psychologists [as] coaches, and being honest and realistic, I don't think Lorch played badly in that match [against Berkane], but all top professionals miss penalties," Ncikazi defended after the match.

"Why was he on the list for penalty takers? It's because he does well in training, but it's normal with penalties [that you can miss], so you cannot penalize and judge him based on the penalty that he missed.

"That was the message to him and he understood like all players. I thought that was one match that we shouldn't have lost, based on how we played and performed, but football is like that - you don't score, you don't win matches.

"That's what we did [against Maritzburg], and I thought the reality maybe sunk into the team. We look at the next assignment, which is the league, and we know what is there for us [to play for]."

Pirates are looking to topple second-placed Cape Town City from the CAF Champions League qualifying spot, using their two remaining games in hand against fifth-placed Royal AM and ninth-placed SuperSport United.

Pirates now need to win their last two matches against the KwaZulu Natal outfit, who are also still in contention for CAF football should they win or draw, and SuperSport United who are looking to sneak into the Top 8 for next season's MTN8 competition.

Mamelodi Sundowns have already bagged their 12th championship, having made it five league titles in a row with this season's runaway victory.

By Velile Mnyandu