Milford Win Exposes A Bigger Problem In South African Football

Former Orlando Pirates striker Reason Chiloane has weighed in on Abdeslam Ouaddou’s frustration following the Buccaneers’ 3-0 victory over Milford FC in the Carling Knockout Cup, arguing that the match exposed a worrying problem with the quality of strikers in South African football.

Pirates booked their place in the quarter-finals after an impressive first-half display at the Orlando Amstel Arena on Tuesday, 27 October 2026. Thapelo Mokobodi opened the scoring before Tshepang Moremi struck twice to complete the 3-0 victory.

However, the result did not entirely satisfy Ouaddou. Despite creating numerous scoring opportunities, the defending champions failed to turn their dominance into a much bigger scoreline.

The Pirates coach revealed that his team had created 24 chances but converted only three, a statistic that left him questioning the players’ decision-making and their attitude in front of goal.

Chiloane believes Pirates should have taken greater advantage of the opportunities they created against Milford.

Speaking to KickOff, the former Buccaneers forward argued that scoring only three goals from so many chances was disappointing, particularly for a club with ambitions of winning major trophies.

“For a team to just score only three goals out of those chances is disappointing. They should have won by eight goals at least,” Chiloane said.

His assessment supports Ouaddou’s concerns about the team’s attacking efficiency, although the former striker believes the problem extends beyond the Soweto giants.

Chiloane suggested that the performance highlighted a broader shortage of clinical forwards in South African football.

A Bigger Problem For South African Football?

The former Pirates striker did not limit his criticism to the players who featured against Milford. Instead, he questioned the overall development of strikers in the country, arguing that forwards are struggling to convert even difficult opportunities.

“What happened against Milford exposes the quality of the strikers we have here in South Africa. It shows we don’t have deadly people who can score even half a chance,” he explained.

Chiloane also raised concerns about the local transfer market, suggesting that clubs are finding it difficult to identify prolific South African strikers.

“The market is dry in South Africa when it comes to strikers, to be honest. People don’t know how to score. It has to start from the grassroots. We see it’s a worrying factor, but still we don’t attend to it,” he added.

His comments have opened another conversation about whether local football is producing enough natural goalscorers capable of delivering consistently at the highest level.

Ouaddou was equally unhappy with what he described as selfishness and poor decision-making among his players.

The Moroccan coach argued that some players chose to shoot when teammates were in better positions, instead of making the simple pass that could have produced another goal.

He warned that Pirates must improve if they want to compete for the Betway Premiership, CAF Champions League, Nedbank Cup and Carling Knockout trophies.

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