Ouaddou feels for Nabi after Marumo Gallants beat Kaizer Chiefs in Betway Premiership

Photo Credit - Marumo Gallants Media.

Marumo Gallants head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou admitted he felt sorry for his counterpart Nasreddine Nabi after guiding his side to a 2-1 Betway Premiership victory over Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Despite taking an early lead, Amakhosi fell to Gallants, a result that dented their hopes of securing a top-eight finish in this season’s top flight. Glody Lilepo opened the scoring with a goal-of-the-season contender in the 10th minute, before Trevore Mathiane equalised in the 41st minute.

Gallants’ winner came in bizarre fashion in the 70th minute, as Daniel Msendami’s long free-kick from deep sailed over everyone and bounced into the net past Bruce Bvuma. The home defeat was Chiefs’ eleventh of the season, leaving them ninth in the 16-team league table with 30 points from 25 matches.

“I know tonight is a very difficult night for my colleague, Nabi,” said Ouaddou, as quoted by idiskitimes. “I know that he’s a very big name, a very big coach in Africa. He achieved great things in Morocco, and in Morocco, they love him.

“I think in football it’s about projects. Sometimes you need time to settle your ideas, your game model. I believe he’s one of the best coaches in Africa.”

Winning next weekend’s Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates would go a long way toward securing a top-eight finish, while also building confidence ahead of the Nedbank Cup final against the same opponent on May 10.