We take accountability for this CAF Champions League exit – Tapelo Xoki

Pirates led twice in this game but conceded immediately after scoring those goals. 

Fingers will be pointed in the defense, and Xoki will take responsibility for what was also their first loss in the tournament this season.

"It's a tough one to take, we could have done better as a team but yeah. I think as individuals we have to take accountability but these things happen it's part of football. Hopefully we grow from this and continue to grow forward, finish the season strong, we still have a lot to play for, Xoki said.

“There's no time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have to continue. It's just a tough one to take because we had a lead twice and both times we conceded right after we scored, so I think there we could have done better. As one of the leaders in the group, I take full accountability for that but yeah, we'll grow from this."

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After Pirates scored the second goal in the second half, the host returned strongly and used the strong winds effectively, crossing the ball to specific targeted areas. 

This is what Pirates failed to counter and were punished at the end.

Xoki admits that this was their downfall on the night.

"Yeah, you could say, we struggled a lot to deal with the crosses, I think all three of their goals come from crosses, we should have done better. We had numbers, we should have competed better but yeah, it's part of football,” he added.

“We have to take the hard lessons as they are, we know playing against North Africans it's always gonna be high ball games, crosses, defending crosses and we've done a lot in the past defending those situations but yeah, today we got caught, which is unlike us, conceding three goals.

“A lot of lessons to take but we'll take this one on the chin as hard as it is and try to move forward with a positive attitude and positive mindset."