Abdeslam Ouaddou tells Orlando Pirates they have '13 finals coming' in hunt for PSL title, starting with a Soweto Derby showdown with Kaizer Chiefs

The Buccaneers suffered a 2-1 league loss to title rivals Mamelodi Sundowns at FNB Stadium on Wednesday, February 18, then crashed out of the Nedbank Cup last-16 three days later, losing 5-4 on penalties to second-tier Casric Stars at Orlando Stadium.

In the aftermath of the cup defeat, Abdeslam Ouaddou told the media he was still optimistic they can win the league title if they treat each remaining match as a 'final' and take heart from their early season stumbles where they went on an 11 match winning run after losing their opening two league fixtures.

“I will tell the players that we still have 13 finals [the number of league matches remaining] coming. Nothing is lost in the title race,” Ouaddou told the media as reported by The Sowetan.

“It’s a tough week after losing two games [in a row]…I think it’s the second time it [losing two games in a row] happens to us [this season]. 

"We have to find resources like we did at the beginning of the season when we bounced back [from defeats to Sekhukhune United and Marumo Gallants in their two opening fixtures] to win 11 games in a row...that’s what we have to do now,” Ouaddou stated.

“We have to prepare as usual but we’ll have to go a little bit deeper in our analysis," he said in response to a question on the upcoming Soweto Derby.

"We are going to, first of all, get some regeneration for the guys who played and with the technical staff we will think about the line-up to make sure we win that game because we need points,” Ouaddou concluded.

After the cup defeat Oswin Appollis expressed his disappointment at the outcome, but was, like his coach, already starting to focus on preparations for the upcoming Kaizer Chiefs clash.

"It's a difficult one to swallow, you know, but I think the boys fought today [Saturday], we created so many chances, and we couldn't score today," said Appollis, after the match to the Bucs media team.

"We will definitely bounce back. We have the whole week to prepare for our next game. So, we will definitely put in the work to focus on the next game," he said.

As things stand, it seems both Soweto giants are currently struggling with similar challenges, particularly in front of goal. 

The upcoming clash will not only test their ability to break deadlocks but also their mental strength and tactical discipline under pressure.

It will be fascinating to see which team manages to overcome their scoring struggles and claim the crucial points, with the Premier Soccer League title still very much up for grabs.

However, while Pirates have the whole week to prepare for the derby, Chiefs face Stellenbosch, who knocked them out of the Nedbank Cup in the previous Round of 32, on Tuesday night at the FNB Stadium.