Abdeslam Ouaddou praises Mbekezeli Mbokazi after training-ground strike

The 20-year-old centre-back’s long-range strike sealed a 1–0 victory at Orlando Stadium to send the Buccaneers into the Carling Knockout quarterfinals.

Ouaddou says the goal came straight from training, where the youngster has been perfecting such efforts.

“I’m not surprised because he has a very strong shot, he’s shown it many times in training, and he took the decision to shoot from 40 yards, showing all his qualities,” said Ouaddou.

“But he’s a guy who believes in himself – you cannot shoot from 40 yards if you do not trust yourself, and you don’t believe in your qualities.

“It’s a goal that really delivered for the team and gave happiness to all the players and fans as well, and you can see that danger can come from anywhere in our team, it’s not only the strikers or midfielders, it comes from everywhere.”

The Moroccan tactician says Pirates’ disciplined performance was built on detailed preparation, even using Siwelele coach Lehlohonolo Seema’s pre-match comments as motivation.

“I listened to their coach in the press conference and he said they will come for a result, so I guessed he would come with a medium-low block, and we worked for that,” he added.

“But it was not easy and I said this game would be won on small details, which came from a central defender – a fantastic shot from maybe 30-40 yards.

“I’m very proud of my boys, they showed again a great personality and great character, and they confirmed that what they’ve been doing for a few weeks is not just luck.

“It’s daily work, it’s belief, it’s quality, and trust between [each other] and trust in the technical staff, and I’d like to just congratulate my staff and my players for this game.”