INTERIM Orlando Pirates coach Augusto Palacios is worried!
What is giving the Peruvian born coach sleepless nights is his side’s poor defending and worrying tendency of conceding late goals.
Bucs suffered a second successive Absa Premiership draw when they shared a four-goal thriller 2-2 with Highlands Park on Saturday – having conceded a late goal again.
Last week Bucs were held 1-1 by Baroka FC after a spectacular goal from keeper Oscarine Masuluke in the dying seconds.
Pirates again had to rely on their Zimbabwean striker Tendai Ndoro, who scored both goals to take his league tally to 11. The Lions of the North replied through Thanduyise Khuboni and Lindokuhle Mbatha.
Palacios said his team were improving but he was worried about his defence and dropping valuable points.
He said: “We need to be more solid at the back and stop giving away late goals. It happened again against Highlands that we conceded late. We really need to work more on our consistency, especially when we go into the lead.”
Palacios had warned his players at half-time that it was dangerous to feel comfortable with a 1-0 lead: “We needed to come out in the second half and score more goals. My players do create chances but sometimes football is a cruel game. We dominate the game, only to drop points at the end.”
He also defended his decision of chopping and changing his starting X1. Palacios made six changes from the squad that played Baroka.
He said: “We’re in a position where we need to adjust to situations because of circumstances. Thabo Matlaba got a red card, Edwin Gyimah is injured and other players are accumulating yellow cards, which is problematic.”
He stressed that there was no problem with his goalkeepers after he dropped Jackson Mabokgwane in favour of Brighton Mhlongo.
