Orlando Pirates 'downfall' against 'ordinary' Red Devils explained - 'Bucs went to the match thinking too much of Al Ahly'

On Saturday, at the Orlando Stadium, both Orlando Pirates and Al Ahly employed a cautious approach.

The Bucs faithful and the majority of South Africans had anticipated a win for the home team in Group C's Caf Champions League outing.

However, they were not given a goal to celebrate.

Prior to the most recent meeting, Pirates came into the fixture as the favourites.

The Red Devils had not won a game at the Orlando Stadium, and the Sea Robbers had a better head-to-head record having secured three wins, two draws and a loss from the past six engagements.

The Buccaneers' form has been good, explaining why they were tipped to deliver maximum points.

Former Pirates attacker Bruce Ramokadi has now opined where it went wrong for the MTN8 champions.

"It is the first time most of the Orlando Pirates players are playing in this stage," the 49-year-old told SNL24.

"Against Al Ahly, it was not a bad performance as such for Orlando Pirates. I think they went to the match thinking too much of Al Ahly instead of focusing on their own game.

"That was their downfall. If it was just a normal league game against the likes of AmaZulu FC, Pirates could have scored three or four goals on Saturday.

"This current Al Ahly team is not better than Pirates. It's no longer the Al Ahly of players like [Mohamed] Aboutrika," Ramokadi continued.

"They are an ordinary team now, they did not even attack Pirates that much."

Orlando Pirates will be away against Stade d'Abidjan in their third Group C game scheduled for Saturday, December 14.

Having lost their opening two games, the Ivorians will want to make it hard against Pirates, but coach Jose Riveiro should ensure his players have the right mentality ahead of the outing.