Ouaddou rues Gamphani Lungu’s missed penalty in MTN8 defeat

Trailing to Teboho Mokoena’s first-half strike, Pirates were handed an opportunity to equalise just after the hour mark. However, utility player Gamphani Lungu saw his spot-kick saved by Ronwen Williams as Sundowns held on before securing a 2-0 victory at Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Speaking after the defeat, Ouaddou suggested the missed penalty could have been a turning point in Pirates’ bid to defend their MTN8 crown.

"We started the game off well but then we became shy and we wanted to avoid chasing a goal, but unfortunately that did not happen. The real momentum decider of this final was our missed penalty, because if we scored that penalty the game could've really swung in our favour. We had other chances to score, but we also could've easily conceded more goals."

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Ouaddou did give credit to Sundowns for pushing them to the limit in a high-tempo fixture that he felt could have gone either way.

The Pirates mentor was also quizzed about his decision to start talisman Oswin Appollis on the bench in a cup final.

"He is one of the best players in the country, but you know you have to play according to a strategy because we were thinking about the possibilities for him in the second half because we always wanted to bring him on quickly after the restart. He is a fantastic player, so we wanted to use him as an impact player, but Mokoena's goal changed our plans."

Ouaddou added that while losing to Sundowns in Durban is painful, his young players will have a new level of maturity moving forward.