{"id":23528,"date":"2025-08-18T14:49:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T12:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/?p=23528"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T08:01:12","slug":"orlando-pirates-coach-stands-by-radiopane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-coach-stands-by-radiopane\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Pirates Coach Stands by Radiopane Amid Goal Drought"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has once again expressed his unwavering support for striker Boitumelo Radiopane, who has yet to find the back of the net this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Radiopane has featured in three of Pirates\u2019 four opening matches this campaign but remains goalless. On Saturday, he was named on the bench during the 1-1 MTN8 semi-final first-leg draw against Mamelodi Sundowns at Orlando Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ouaddou-faces-fan-criticism\">Ouaddou Faces Fan Criticism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Moroccan tactician has faced scrutiny from Pirates supporters for regularly starting Radiopane ahead of last season\u2019s top scorer Tshegofatso Mabasa, and Evidence Makgopa, who made his first start of the season in the clash against Sundowns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ouaddou has defended his decision to prioritise the young striker, highlighting his professionalism and attitude both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-3616181437\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-ouaddou-prefers-radiopane\">Why Ouaddou Prefers Radiopane<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis type of player makes a coach\u2019s job easier. He has a fantastic mentality, he\u2019s well-mannered, respectful, and works hard. I\u2019m fortunate to have players like him,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-future-under-abdeslam-ouaddou\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ouaddou<\/a> said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s professional. When called upon, he never complains about being on the bench and gives everything when on the field. I gave him 10 minutes against Sundowns and told him, \u2018son, you have to score your goal.\u2019 He almost did, and he gave his all. That mentality is exactly what a coach looks for, and all my players at Pirates show this level of professionalism. It\u2019s one of the best dressing rooms I\u2019ve experienced in terms of mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sundowns-coach-reflects-on-missed-opportunities\">Sundowns Coach Reflects on Missed Opportunities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Sundowns coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/miguel-cardoso-defends-williams-mokoena\/\">Miguel Cardoso<\/a> admitted that poor decision-making in the second half cost his team a potential victory. The Brazilians had taken the lead in the first half but conceded to Pirates to draw 1-1 in the MTN8 semi-final first leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI predicted that the match would have different phases,\u201d Cardoso said. \u201cWith two strong teams competing for such an important trophy, it\u2019s normal to have fluctuating moments. We began the second half well, but as the match progressed, our decision-making faltered, emotions took over, and we struggled against Pirates in the final ten minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"gaute-2469344647\" class=\"gaute-inbetween-content gaute-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 30px;margin-bottom: 30px;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;text-align: center;\"><div class=\"gaute-adlabel\">Advertisement<\/div><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1852772760112594\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1852772760112594\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"1819787043\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-radiopane-s-future-at-pirates\">Radiopane\u2019s Future at Pirates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizen.co.za\/sport\/soccer\/local-soccer\/under-fire-pirates-coach-ouaddou-defends-goalless-radiopane\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">his goal drought<\/a>, Radiopane remains a key part of Ouaddou\u2019s plans, with the coach emphasising that mentality, discipline, and work ethic can be as crucial as scoring goals. Fans will be watching closely to see if the young striker can turn opportunities into goals in the coming matches, as Pirates aim to advance in the MTN8 competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related article: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/orlando-pirates-coach-under-pressure-mtn8-semi-final\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Orlando Pirates Coach Under Pressure Before Sundowns MTN8 Semi-Final Showdown<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has once again expressed his unwavering support for striker Boitumelo Radiopane, who has yet to find the back of the net this season. Radiopane has featured in three of Pirates\u2019 four opening matches this campaign but remains goalless. On Saturday, he was named on the bench during the 1-1 MTN8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has once again expressed his unwavering support for striker Boitumelo Radiopane, who has yet to find the back of the net...","footnotes":""},"categories":[56,64],"tags":[10114,273,9773,288],"class_list":{"0":"post-23528","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"category-sports-news","9":"tag-mtn8","10":"tag-orlando-pirates","11":"tag-psl-2025-26-season","12":"tag-soccer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23528"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23532,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23528\/revisions\/23532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gauteng.net\/whats-on-g\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}