Abdeslam Ouaddou praises Yanela Mbuthuma after the loss to ST Eloi Lupopo! | OneFootball

Despite the loss, Ouaddou is confident in his team.

Abdeslam Ouaddou praises Yanela Mbuthuma after the loss to ST Eloi Lupopo!

In the crushing aftermath of a penalty shootout defeat, coach Abdeslam Ouaddou found his first duty was not tactical analysis, but that of a mentor mending a young heart. The focus fell upon Yanela Mbuthuma, the Pirates striker whose missed sudden-death spot-kick sealed their fate, ending their dream of reaching the CAF Champions League group stages.

The scene was a packed Orlando Stadium on Saturday, where a dramatic comeback had unfolded in regular time. Facing a deficit, the Sea Robbers had roared back with three unanswered goals against ST Eloi Lupopo, with Mbuthuma himself playing a crucial role by finding the net. However, the euphoria was short-lived, evaporating in the tension of penalties, which ended 5-4 in the visitors' favour.

Amid the disappointment, Ouaddou’s immediate instinct was to console his protégé. He rushed onto the pitch to deliver a message of pride and perspective. He reframed the narrative for the young striker, emphasizing that without his earlier goal, their chance at penalties would never have existed.

“The first player that I have seen just after the game is him. I went quickly on the pitch to tell him to chin up and be proud of what he did,” Ouaddou revealed. “When he came on he scored a goal, without him, we could have lost the game before.”

His post-game counsel looked firmly to the future. He reminded Mbuthuma that his journey is far from over, noting, “He’s still young. What I told him is that he’s still young. There are still many competitions this season. And they will be very important for us.” It was a moment where a coach prioritized the long-term development of a player over the immediate sting of a devastating loss.