AJAX Cape Town coach Roger de Sa says he is surprised that his side's Telkom Knockout quarterfinal against Orlando Pirates was allowed to go on despite the heavy rain on Saturday.

Huge puddles formed all over the Orlando Stadium pitch with the ball constantly getting stuck on the sodden pitch, ruining the highly anticipated encounter. Some tackles flew in as well and De Sa feels players could have sustained serious injuries in a match Pirates won 4-1.

"Credit to the players. They kept it tidy because it could have got ugly. I don't think the tackles were intentional. You don't know if it was slip, a slide or a mistimed tackle. There could have been serious injuries," said De Sa.

"I am surprised the game went on. I don't think they would have allowed the game to go on anywhere else in the world. I was expecting the game to stop and then we come back and finish it. The ball was not rolling. I sometimes see match officials rolling the ball and if it stops then the game is called off. It must have happened 40 times. Not good for the game," he lamented.

While agreeing with De Sa on the tackles that flew in, Pirates coach Vladimir Vermezovic nonetheless said the referee was right to allow play to continue.

"It was difficult for the referee to decide if the tackles were intentional or an accident. But I don't think the pitch was difficult for the game. I don't think it was conditions to stop the game," he said.