ORLANDO Pirates coach Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic says a lack of one-touch finishing is a major problem in South African football.
Sredojevic made this statement after his charges and their opponents SuperSport United missed an accumulated 39 shots in their goalless draw at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday.
The Serbian coach hopes his players will improve in front of goal when they host AmaZulu in a league clash at the same venue on Saturday (8.15pm).
“Training can sometimes fool us technically. We have a problem with one-touch finishing in the country. It happened on four occasions in the second half with (Thabiso) Kutumela in possession of the ball and with (Musa) Nyatama on one occasion. It’s something we really need to work on.
“If one touch is a problem, let us use the first touch to put the ball at the right angle and the second to put it into the net.”
Sredojevic emphasised that other players also had to take responsibility for scoring goals to take pressure off the strikers.
“The defence is very tight and there is always double defence on strikers. When you have such a situation other players need to come to the party with late runs – even central defenders, attacking wingers and full-backs.
“We need to provide firepower from all possible angles. This is not like a button that you press and everything is sorted. You need to have repetition so it becomes a habit.”
However, Sredojevic applauded his improved defence, which has conceded only eight goals in 13 league games so far.
“In the last two competitive games last season, the Nedbank final included (which Pirates lost 4-1 to SuperSport) we conceded 10 goals. We’ve proved that we are a very competitive team this year and I give credit to the players for working hard, as we played three matches without conceding.
“The game could have gone either way – we didn’t take three points. But we are looking forward to the next game against AmaZulu to try and turn chances into goals.”
Although Bucs are among the front-runners, Sredojevic insisted that it was too early for fans to start thinking about winning the title.
“A house is built from the foundation up and I would like us to pick up points. This is what the marathon called the PSL is all about. We will upgrade to go into the second round stronger.”
