Fiery Orlando Pirates Coach Mandla Ncikazi Fires More Shots at Simba SC After Confederations Cup Victory

• Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi ensured that he stuck the boot in when it came to vanquished CAF Confederations Cup opponents Simba SC
• The lead-up to the second leg of the quarterfinal between the South African and Tanzanian was characterised by a war of words between both camps
• The Buccaneers held their collective nerve to seal the victory on penalties, with Ncikazi firing parting shots at Simba

Orlando Pirates co-coach Mandla Ncikazi continued his war of words with Simba SC.

Pirates defeated Simba 4-3 on penalties after the CAF Confederations Cup quarterfinal tie ended 1-1. Last week's defeat in Dar es Salaam left a bitter taste in Ncikazi's mouth, leading him to criticise the Tanzanian club, which the latter did not take kindly to.

According to the Citizen, the bee in Ncikazi's bonnet continue to buzz discontentedly, with the coach saying:

"I must be honest with you, this team is well trained in delaying tactics. Whoever has coached them to do that should not be part of the game. They played for penalties. But I think even outside (of the game) it was important for Pirates to be composed.

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The team is very intelligent in terms of the social media invasion. They’ve been trying to destabilise us for the whole week. I’ve never seen people that are not wrong in any scenario. We are not the only team that had issues with them. I think all the teams that visited that country and team had issues.”

The unrelenting Ncikazi also expressed displeasure with the VAR, claiming that the Buccaneers were denied two penalties in a match that the hosts dominated thoroughly, saying:

“At some point, I saw the officials going to VAR, which was functioning, at some point, it didn’t function. I don’t know why from where I was standing, I also saw two handballs. I don’t know whether it’s a manipulation of the rules.

"But it would have been nice to refer the two handballs to VAR. Why it was not working, it’s still amazing in my eyes.”

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Simba SC players seen in photos and video allegedly burning muthi before Orlando Pirates match

The second leg of the CAF Confederations Cup quarterfinal between Orlando Pirates and Simba SC was expected to produce drama, but the shenanigans began before that.

As reported by Sports Brief, during the warm-ups, Simba players were seen huddled around the centre circle, dancing rhythmically.

This wouldn't be out of the ordinary, but for a small plume of smoke rising out of this tight circle of players.