Orlando Pirates midfielder Miguel Timm has leaped to the defence of teammate Deon Hotto, whose error led to a goal for Venda Football Academy in the Nedbank Cup Last 16 match on Saturday night.
The Namibian winger was punished for running with the ball across the face of his own goal shortly after the break, with Edmore Chirambadare taking full advantage with a neat finish.
Timm, who was named Man of the Match, dedicated the win to Hotto. He said: “We made it difficult. It was unfortunate with Deon and that’s okay, we make mistakes. I would like to dedicate this victory to him. I want him to keep his head up and we keep moving forward.”
The Pirates midfielder praised his team’s performance, saying: “We needed a good rhythm, like our coach said, that’s the difference between the level of football in the country and worldwide, which I think we had. We had them on the back foot for large parts of the game and against the run of play, that mistake happens and obviously they get confident and that’s where the experience needs to come in.
He added: “A lot of calmness, we knew we had another half an hour. We did rush at moments but in the end, enough experience got us the second goal to avoid penalties.”