Johannesburg - Orlando Pirates suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened TS Galaxy on Monday afternoon, and co-coach Fadlu Davids bemoaned the side's wastefulness in front of goal as they went a third successive match without scoring.
The Buccaneers had an expected 64% possession in the first half and fired seven attempts at The Rockets’ goal, but it was Galaxy who went into the break in the lead through a Lifa Hlongwane strike.
"Congrats to TS Galaxy. I think their game plan in relation to waiting for one or two moments worked because they took their moment in the first half,” Davids told SuperSport in his post-match interview.
“That was the only moment they had but as you said, that decisive moment in the box is what is letting us down especially in the PSL this season. In the box we weren’t good enough, in the box you have to be calm, you have to be decisive, you have to be clear to really finish the opportunities and that’s something that’s eluding us in the PSL.”
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The Sea Robbers' result against Tim Sukazi's men now means they are five points off a Caf Champions league spot having played a game more than second-placed Royal AM.
Davids expressed his disappointment at his side failing to capitalise on the teams around them dropping points.
“I don’t think it’s a physiological thing, we knew we had to win our four games to achieve the Champions League position, the other teams are not picking up points in that regard but it’s up to us, you can’t depend on the opponent all the time if you’re not winning," he said.
Pirates' next match is a Caf Confederation Cup semi-final away to Al Ahly Tripoli of Libya on Sunday, but Davids believes his side should draw inspiration from their record in their African expeditions if they want to improve their goal conversion rate in time to win the cup.
The Buccaneers shot through the group stages of this competition with an impressive 15-goal haul in just six games before beating Simba SC on penalties at the quarter final stage.
"Our Caf form in terms of scoring goals is different, but it’s not for us to blame the players, because they put everything in, they gave their all but the luck in front of goal is just not there,” he explained.
“You have to persevere, we have to switch our mindset now to the semi-final, we travel to Libya and we’ve got to go really strong to really win this competition."