Masilela earns high praise from Ouaddou after impressing in No.10 role

As the Buccaneers cruised to a 3-0 win over a struggling TS Galaxy in a Betway Premiership match at Orlando Stadium, Ouaddou was waxing lyrical about the young Masilela. 

Despite the 2-0 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 final this past weekend, Ouaddou also admitted that even from the bench, the 22-year-old showed his class before also scoring a goal last night...

"He has all the attributes, potential, and qualities to express himself at the highest level. I've seen a lot of young players in my life, and he is one of the best I've ever seen. He has a lot of humility and he has given me exactly what I expect from a no.10."

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Ouaddou has also spoken at length about Pirates’ impressive seven clean sheets in eight matches in the league this season. This is a continuation of the number of clean sheets that helped them to win the league last season, and the former Moroccan international captain says this all comes down to the discipline he’s instilled in the team over a long period of time.

There was also concern about the injury to Pirates’ key attacker Oswin Appollis, as he couldn’t finish last night’s game and was stretched off the field in the 55th minute. Ouaddou is suspecting fatigue as the main reason, more than an injury. 

With an important CAF Champions League game against Namibia’s African Stars in Botswana this coming weekend, Ouaddou says they will continue to monitor the Bafana Bafana star player.

Newly signed right-back from Milford FC, Bulelani Sigomoshe, also made his debut for Pirates last night, but he was substituted just after providing an assist for Tshepang Moremi in Pirates’ second goal in the 50thminute. Ouaddou is happy with his mentality and believes that he’s going to grow in this role...

"He spent some good time on the pitch, he has a fantastic mentality and if I can have all my players adopting that mental attitude then I'll be a very happy coach. He worked very well in training so we wanted to give him the opportunity to play today, and I really wanted to reward him because it's not easy to adapt."

Meanwhile, Ouaddou has also provided an update on the injury to influential Bafana Bafana and the club’s speedy wingback Kamogelo Sebelebele, who was substituted at halftime in the final over the weekend against Sundowns, and also missed last night’s game...

"He is still being assessed by the medical department, but we will have some more news on his injury soon enough. For the CAF Champions League, I know that I cannot use him."