Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane is known for his thorough planning, but his Orlando Pirates counterpart Eric Tinkler was a class above him in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
Tinkler did his homework, coming up with a brilliant plan to stop Sundowns as Pirates fought bravely for arguably their biggest victory in domestic football this season.
He described his players as "lions" after goals from Tendai Ndoro and Mpho Makola secured a 2-0 win in extra time and sent the in-form Buccaneers into the semifinals.
Clubs have struggled to contain the Sundowns trio of Khama Billiat, Keagan Dolly and Leonardo Castro, but they were almost non-existent as an attacking threat against the Buccaneers on Saturday.
Bucs' Edwin Gyimah was given the role of man-marking Billiat and he unsettled Sundowns' Zimbabwean forward with two hard tackles in the first four minutes, while Ayanda Gcaba kept a close eye on Castro, who was isolated at times up front.
Right back Ntsikelelo Nyauza was quick enough to keep up with Dolly and Issa Sarr made sure that Sundowns' central midfielder Hlompho Kekana did not distribute the ball or make those famous runs into the box.
Downs were often forced to play long balls because they were unable to break down a determined Pirates defence, which was not even affected when Gyimah was sent off for one harsh tackle too many on Billiat in the second half.
Tinkler had a plan to stop Sundowns and it worked.
"If you look at Sundowns through the season they start the games well and look to kill off games quickly, so we knew we had to survive that first 45-minute onslaught," said Tinkler. "We knew that the longer we stayed in the game, then fatigue would kick in on their players. We did not give Castro and Billiat space and I thought Dolly was quiet. We wanted to prevent those three from playing and we had to also stop Kekana because of his distribution.
"Everybody is working for one another, which is important. We had 14 men of the match out there."
Tinkler is slowly showing why Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza has backed him throughout the season, despite calls for his sacking by supporters.
How Bucs bombed CBD
Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane is known for his thorough planning, but his Orlando Pirates counterpart Eric Tinkler was a class above him in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
Tinkler did his homework, coming up with a brilliant plan to stop Sundowns as Pirates fought bravely for arguably their biggest victory in domestic football this season.
He described his players as "lions" after goals from Tendai Ndoro and Mpho Makola secured a 2-0 win in extra time and sent the in-form Buccaneers into the semifinals.
Clubs have struggled to contain the Sundowns trio of Khama Billiat, Keagan Dolly and Leonardo Castro, but they were almost non-existent as an attacking threat against the Buccaneers on Saturday.
Bucs' Edwin Gyimah was given the role of man-marking Billiat and he unsettled Sundowns' Zimbabwean forward with two hard tackles in the first four minutes, while Ayanda Gcaba kept a close eye on Castro, who was isolated at times up front.
Right back Ntsikelelo Nyauza was quick enough to keep up with Dolly and Issa Sarr made sure that Sundowns' central midfielder Hlompho Kekana did not distribute the ball or make those famous runs into the box.
Downs were often forced to play long balls because they were unable to break down a determined Pirates defence, which was not even affected when Gyimah was sent off for one harsh tackle too many on Billiat in the second half.
Tinkler had a plan to stop Sundowns and it worked.
"If you look at Sundowns through the season they start the games well and look to kill off games quickly, so we knew we had to survive that first 45-minute onslaught," said Tinkler. "We knew that the longer we stayed in the game, then fatigue would kick in on their players. We did not give Castro and Billiat space and I thought Dolly was quiet. We wanted to prevent those three from playing and we had to also stop Kekana because of his distribution.
"Everybody is working for one another, which is important. We had 14 men of the match out there."
Tinkler is slowly showing why Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza has backed him throughout the season, despite calls for his sacking by supporters.
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