Tinkler: “It’s Great To Have Him Back”
Orlando Pirates coach Eric Tinkler says he is not sure if he will use Happy Jele against Al Ahly for their CAF semi-final clash in Egypt. The defender is back after he served the one match suspension in the Buccaneers 1-0 victory over Al Ahly at Orlando Stadium.
“It’s great to have him back. He has been extremely influential in this squad throughout the competition,” Tinkler told reporters at the airport before Pirates left South Africa for Egypt.
“As yet, I have not made that decision because you also got to reward the guys who played in the last match.
“I thought the back four was phenomenal. Ayanda Gcaba and Rooi Mahamutsa were excellent against Al-Ahly. But it gives me a selection headache which is a good headache.”
Orlando Pirates squad has a experienced squad in the continental competitions, number of players have played in the CAF champions league final in 2013, until they lost 3-1 on aggregate to the same team they will battle with on sunday.
“We got a number of players who got experience of playing at this level against such teams we are playing against,” he said.
“So it is vitally important that we go there with that experience that we gained from the past. Positives and the negative ones, particularly the last one against Zamalek.
“We can’t rest on our laurels, they are going to come at us. They are a very good team going forward and if we don’t defend the same way we did at Orlando it will be a problem.”added Tinkler.
