Al Ittihad 3-2 Orlando Pirates – Abdeslam Ouaddou’s men go down fighting in pre-season friendly in Spain

Abdeslam Ouaddou handed starts to a trio of his returning Bafana Bafana World Cup stars Thalente Mbatha, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa but that didn’t stop the Saudi club from taking the lead inside 10 minutes when veteran Moroccan forward Youssef En-Nesyri got on the end of an Abdulrahman Al-Aboud cross to head past goalkeeper Sipho Chaine.

The Buccaneers hit back in the 26th minute when Appollis played in Mbatha who finished into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Pirates pushed for a second goal and thought they had scored it through Tshepang Moremi before it was chalked off.

The Saudi Pro League outfit then restored their lead on the stroke of halftime when Moussa Diaby fired past Chaine against the run of play.

Ouaddou made three changes at the start of the second half by throwing on Simphiwe Selepe, Abdoulaye Mariko Mariko and Bohlale Ngwato.

However, as the bench cleared towards the hour mark, the Buccaneers struggled to carve out any clear-cut openings, as Ittihad sat back and soaked up the pressure.

Then, with just six minutes remaining the Saudi’s settled the contest after Pirates gave away possession near their own box, which saw George Ilenikhena smashing into the back of the net.

Yanela Mbuthuma then scored what proved to be a late consolation with virtually the last kick of the match.