Cape Town - Orlando Pirates' dismal run continued Friday night when they had to settle for a 1-1 draw against AmaZulu after they missed a penalty that could have changed their fortunes dramatically.
Instead, Pirates came away from their Orlando Pirates base with a lone match point instead of three. After the match, their coach José Riveiro showed sympathy for his central defender Nkosinathi Sibisi who failed to convert a penalty.
Sibisi proved his worth as a dead-ball specialist at Golden Arrows, where he was a successful penalty taker. However, on Friday, his spot kick was stopped by AmaZulu keeper Veli Mothwa.
"Someone has to take the penalty. He did it, and thank you for doing it," said Riveiro. "It is not easy to get the responsibility of taking the penalty.
"Hopefully, we have more chances and more frequently the possibilities to shoot a penalty.
"Sibisi is a rock. He will be back immediately.
"Obviously, we are all disappointed with the results, but it is not only because we missed a penalty."
A penalty that saw Pirates suffer their first setback on the night. AmaZulu's attacking midfielder Siphesihle Maduna scored from the spot in the 35th minute, and Pirates were left chasing the game.
On the stroke of halftime, Kermit Erasmus playing in the run-on XI for the first time since re-joining Pirates, scored the equaliser. The Spanish tactician Riveiro was pleased that his charges clawed their way back into the game.
"Credit to the players for how they reacted after the goal and the way they pushed in the second half," said Riveiro.
"The fact that their goalkeeper is a hero tonight tells about the nature of the second half.
"The most difficult thing in football is to create goal-scoring chances, clear ones. Not ones from rebounds, not coming from second actions or coming from our offensive organisation.
'Interactions between players, and we did it in the second half. It is not about synergies or luck. I don't know what it is.
"It is a fact that we didn't score enough and that is what denies us the possibility to celebrate the victory."
The 1-1 outcome means that Pirates have a winless run of four matches across all competitions. night.
Pirates return to Premiership action on Tuesday when they play Golden Arrows in KZN. The match will serve as a warm-up for their crunching encounter against Mamelodi Sundowns in the second leg of the MTN8 semi-final next Saturday.