Orlando Pirates legend claims 'this could have been an easy win' and reveals what made it simple for Saint-Eloi Lupopo to eliminate Bucs from CAF Champions League

Orlando Pirates legend Benedict Vilakazi has claimed experience is a major factor that cost the Premier Soccer League heavyweights in the CAF Champions League.

Bucs could not progress further after they were eliminated from the second preliminary round by Saint-Eloi Lupopo of DR Congo.

Analysing what could have gone wrong, Tso, as Vilakazi is widely known, stated that Bucs players lacked continental experience.

"They worked hard, these Pirates boys, but you know we always learn. In football, if you don't follow certain strategies, you will end up on the losing side,” Vilakazi told KickOff.

"Teams from North, East, and West Africa often use experienced players in these cup competitions. Just look at how the Lupopo players took their penalties; you could see they were experienced," he added.

"Pirates were not beaten because they couldn't play; they were beaten due to their players' lack of experience in the Champions League. If they had more seasoned players, their approach to the game would have been different."

Vilakazi has explained exactly what experienced players would have done for the Soweto giants who reached the semi-finals last season.

"Experienced players would have advised the Pirates coach: 'Coach, to win this game, we need to play with two strikers. We should replace a defensive midfielder with attacking players, and one defender should always support the attack by pushing into midfield," he explained.

"In the first half, they played without a striker despite going into the match 3-0 down. The situation changed in the second half when they introduced Mbuthuma. This shows that experience can't be bought. That was the difference between Pirates and Lupopo," he continued.

"This could have been an easy win for Pirates if they had experienced players or had utilised strikers in the first half. Lupopo didn’t come here to win; they came to defend their three-goal lead."

After going down 3-0 in the first leg, Pirates fought back and restored parity at Orlando Stadium, but were eliminated after losing in the penalty shootouts.

Now, their focus is on the Nedbank Cup, the Carling Knockout Cup, and the PSL title after defending the MTN8 Cup.