Marumo Gallants surprised all by beating Orlando Pirates 2-0 this past weekend in the Betway Premiership.
Image: Marumo Gallants
Marumo Gallants coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says that his side needs to secure many more cleansheets, if they want to be triumphant in their fight to avoid relegation.
Siwelele sa Marumo secured their most impressive win of the season when they beat title challengers Orlando Pirates 2-0 at a sold-out Free State Stadium on Saturday. The league encounter was the first for the 46-year-old Moroccan coach, who replaced Dan Malesela after he was shown the door following a couple of poor results in the league.
A first-half strike by former Pirates midfielder Gabadinho Mhango handed the Bloemfontein outfit the lead going into the halftime break, and a Thalente Mbatha own goal sealed the win for Gallants in the second half, handing them their fifth win of the season.
Ouaddou was pleased with how his side applied themselves on the day, but he also warned that they need to remain grounded with games coming thick and fast.
“I am very proud of my players,” he said after the match.
“They did a great job, and it was not easy, but as I told them, they have to believe in themselves. They needed the confidence, and sometimes it’s just about the small changes that are needed, and tonight we realized that.
“It was difficult to compete against a very good team with some good players, and we had to be strong and find the right moments to finish them, and that’s what we did. We will be happy together with the players, but we need to think of the next game because, unfortunately, we need points to save the club, so we have to build on that performance and go forward.”
The former Stade Rennais defender added that one of his key focus areas in his early tenure with the club would be to cut down on the number of goals his team has been conceding. Gallants have the worst record in the league for goals conceded, and in his first outing as the coach, Ouaddou delivered with his first clean sheet.
“I studied the team before I came here and saw that the team had conceded 30 goals, and when a team concedes so many goals, you cannot even wish to stay in the PSL. The first thing was to try and strengthen the defense to have a foundation, and now we are going to try and have more possession of the ball because I like to have a lot of that.
"For this match, I cannot say that we had control of the possession, but we needed the points.”
Siwelele sa Marumo will next welcome Stellenbosch FC in the league clash, and they will have to do it without some key players, including Washington Arubi, who got injured in the match against Pirates.
“It is bad for us for the next few games because we play every two or three days, and it changes our plans completely because we need to find solutions for the players that are out. But I thought we did well with my staff; we brought some players in defense, and I thought they did well.”