Lupopo coach explains what CAF victory over Pirates means

FC Saint Eloi Lupopo head coach Guy Bukasa has spoken of his immense pride after his side knocked South African giants Orlando Pirates out of the CAF Champions League, describing the elimination as a massive learning curve despite the intense pressure his team faced.

The Linafoot side secured their spot in the next round by winning a dramatic penalty shootout at Orlando Stadium on Saturday, minutes after the Buccaneers had completed a heroic 3-0 comeback to level the second preliminary round tie 3-3 on aggregate.

Respect for the Opponent: Pirates

Bukasa openly confessed that his team felt immense heat throughout the 180 minutes against the well-organised South African team.

“Honestly, we feel proud,” Bukasa told the media. “But I think we learnt too much from these two games against Orlando, because they are a very well organised team – off and on the pitch.”

The coach was quick to praise the sheer quality of the Pirates squad, even as his side celebrated their progression.

“They have very talented players. When they have the ball, it’s just amazing. When you are an opponent, you appreciate what they are doing,” he admitted. “So it was difficult for us, between all 180 minutes, we suffered too much. But we knew that we will suffer.”

Justifying the Low Block

Bukasa also justified his team’s defensive and often criticised low-block strategy in the second leg, explaining it was a necessary tactical measure to survive the onslaught.

“The reason why we tried to stay low [block] to avoid conceding more goals. Because if we made the mistake to press them, then we could’ve conceded four goals today,” he explained.

In a final gesture of sportsmanship, the Lupopo coach extended his congratulations to the defeated hosts.

“I must say congratulations to Orlando because they deserve also to continue, but we fight, we came here to get qualification,” Bukasa concluded. “For us we learnt too much from them and we continue to work and improve our level for the group stages.”

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