It was bound to happen says Pirates' Diski coach

Orlando Pirates DStv Diski Challenge coach Mandla Qhogi says he is not disappointed with his youngsters after losing the number one spot in the league following back-to-back defeats.

The Soweto giants lost the top spot in the DStv Diski Challenge following a 3-1 defeat to Maritzburg United at the Rand Stadium last Saturday.

It was Pirates’ second defeat in a row as they had also lost 2-1 to SuperSport United a fourth night ago.

That results saw Stellenbosch overtaking them to the number one spot with 50 points while the Buccaneers dropped to second place with 49 points.

Qhogi said: “I’m not disappointed, they have made errors that have cost us, but I have to give credit to other oppositions were we able to defend against us.

“They have a plan on how to stop us. I would not say the [boys] did badly; it was bound to happen.”

Qhogi also admitted that most teams were also gunning for their heads, having been at the summit for the longest time in the history of the Diski Challenge.

He also defended his players, saying it’s not that they thought they were on top of the world.

“When you dealing with youngsters you should know such things will always happen. It’s not that they thought they were the best other teams. But other team also upoped their games, they had players training with senior teams and that helped them to be better,” Qhogi added.

“They got motivated, so when they play against us they did their best with better training from the highest level. But not all is lost we are going to fight until the final game.”