Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou praised his side’s determination after their hard-fought victory, commending the players for grinding out an important result in difficult conditions away to Polokwane City.

The Buccaneers secured a 2-1 victory over Rise and Shine when Relebohile Mofokeng and Patrick Maswanganyi cancelled out Bonginkosi Dlamini’s goal at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.

As a result, Pirates reclaimed their place at the top of the Betway Premiership standings, level on 44 points with second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns.

Ouaddou highlighted the team’s bravery and attacking intent while also pointing out that the playing surface made it challenging to fully showcase their football despite creating numerous chances.

“Let’s congratulate the boys, it’s not easy to win in Polokwane,” Ouaddou told SuperSport TV after the game.

“We know it’s a strong team, very compact, they’re playing with braveness and the pitch didn’t help us today.

“In that case sometimes I don’t understand… we have a magnificent stadium next to this stadium, and it’s the image of the PSL, because PSL is the best league in Africa.

“I think we have to put the teams in the right conditions to play.

“But coming back to the game, we were very brave, we wanted to score but unfortunately we didn’t. But we created so many chances.

“I will say well done boys.”