• Goal scorer, Tendai Ndoro celebrates with Thabo Rakhale during the Nedbank Cup, Last 32 match between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday. Picture: LEE WARREN/GALLO IMAGES

  • Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler. Picture: SYDNEY MAHLANGU/BACKPAGEPIX

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ORLANDO Pirates have been on the wrong end of so many dominant matches that they deserved to have one they did not control go their way, said Bucs coach Eric Tinkler after his side’s 2-0 Nedbank Cup first-round victory against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.

Pirates had less possession and territory, but always looked the more dangerous team in the final third. They used this to their advantage through a brace from Zimbabwean striker Tendai Ndoro in the 76th and 84th minutes.

"Chiefs had a lot of possession. We struggled with the marking. Our passing was poor, and they were stealing the ball off us easily," Tinkler said. "And I felt with the first goal that Tendai scored, the momentum switched. They needed to take more risks, and we looked a lot better on the ball. We got the second and the confidence grew even more.

"But it was a very tough game that could have gone either way.

"We’ve been on the wrong side of many games, dominating possession and chances, and losing them. But where we tended to dominate in this game was in terms of the opportunities created, and shots on target."

Saturday’s victory kept Pirates’ trophy chances alive in 2015-16. Perhaps, more importantly, Bucs are finally on something of a roll after a torrid season.

At the same time, Chiefs coach Steve Komphela said his side only had themselves to blame as Amakhosi look set to end the season without a trophy.

"Pirates did very well to score the two goals. The first came from a lack of concentration from us around the box. The second was from another error we committed. We could have done better from the long range shot," Komphela said. "But I thought in terms of attack, we ticked all the boxes, in movement, passing and creating chances. But we didn’t finish the chances. And defensively, except for the two errors we committed, one can point at few mistakes.

"But football is a funny game. You can’t make any sense out of the good we did in the match. We had 90% of the rights, but it’s in the 10% where you falter severely, and we got punished.

"We understand that we did not do ourselves any favours. And I’m sure even our supporters did not appreciate what happened. It was a match where we showed no sign we were going to lose, and we gave it away. And I will be the first one to take full responsibility."

Chiefs’ focus now shifts to the Premier Soccer League, but Komphela admitted his side have only a slim chance of reeling in a 13-point gap, even with a game in hand, on in-form leaders Mamelodi Sundowns to defend their title.

"It’s very difficult to hope that the other team takes care of your results. You’ve got to take care of your own results," the Chiefs coach said. "But also one must acknowledge the fact that we’ve been to two finals, and came back without anything. And now we’re missing out on this competition again.

"And, for a team of this calibre, it’s obviously a failure and that has to be looked into."

A concern for Chiefs will be that they have lost too many of their big matches they have played this season. Amakhosi did well to reach the two previous Cup finals this season, but lost to Ajax Cape Town (1-0 in the MTN8) and Sundowns (3-1 in the Telkom Knockout).