Richards Bay coach Brandon Truter believes that Ian Otieno did not deserve the Man of the Match award in their recent match against the Orlando Pirates, despite the latter winning 1-0.According to Truter, his team was not troubled enough by the Pirates, who managed to secure victory with Kabelo Dlamini’s free-kick eight minutes from the end.##NAJAVA_MECA_8369709##Otieno started his second consecutive match for the South African Premier Soccer League side and made several impressive saves during the game. However, he could do little to stop the well-taken free kick that ultimately settled the contest.The Harambee Stars goalkeeper was awarded the Man of the Match accolade, which is uncommon for a player on the losing team. Nevertheless, in his post-match interview, Truter expressed skepticism about his new signing deserving the award, noting that his team was not tested significantly.”The Man of the Match for making a double save once off? We were not really troubled; I thought we could have at least gotten something out of the game. A set play today and another set play against Chippa led to our losses,” Truter told SuperSport TV.He added that his team remained compact throughout the match, only to be undone by a set piece, prompting him to make tactical changes as they pushed for a late equalizer.”We were difficult to break down. Credit to them, but we also had our chances, albeit rushed and misfired. Once they got the set piece, they scored from it. We had to make tactical adjustments. We were on the front foot, but unfortunately, we ran out of time. Massive effort from the boys; thank you to them. I believe we deserved more but were unlucky. Congratulations to the Pirates,” Truter said.”We were still stable. It wasn’t necessary to open up. I think Sibanyoni and [Justice] Figuareido ran out of legs, which is why we made changes. They were open and vulnerable to a counter attack, which was our strategy,” Truter explained.Next for Richards Bay is a home match against Stellenbosch FC, where he will face compatriot Brian Onyango.FKF Premier League clubs at risk of losing millions as KBC FTA deal hangs in balance
