Orlando Pirates could have been handicapped after a disappointing goalless draw against minnows CS Disciples in the CAF Champions League preliminaries over the weekend.
Pirates' squad quality was questioned after they could not score against Madagascan outfit Disciples, who denied them an away goal and held them to a goalless draw.
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Raised eyebrows and shock from the Buccaneers' inability to steamroll a team like Disciples is informed by the fact that the Madagascan league is far from being comparable to the PSL and actually is not even a full professional league.
The Soweto giants also showed teething problems last season after only edging Comoros side Djabal Club 1-0 in the CAF Champions League preliminary first round, first leg encounter away and although they redeemed themselves with a 3-0 win in the return leg, ultimately could not qualify for the group stages after being knocked out by Jwaneng Galaxy on penalties.
The competition's preliminary stages take place with teams still working on their match fitness, at the beginning of the season, but Pirates appeared to be handicapped by a fitness problem they could not solve in time in the off-season.
An analysis of Disciples' squad show that they were playing largely with players over the age of 30, which raises question marks on Bucs' fitness levels Disciples.
Normally, playing against minnows, players would be motivated to earn contracts at better organized teams, but there is no much hope of such among the Disciples lot, with the majority of those in the starting line-up on Sunday edging closer to retirement.
Pirates lost the services of physical trainer Miguel Bellver, who left at the same time as former assistant coach Sergio Almenara at the end of last season, after they both cited personal reasons.
The Houghton-based side are yet to announce a replacement for Almenara but have only recently roped in Carlos Nodar Paz as the new physical trainer.
With Paz only joining recently, Ezimnyama's conditioning seemed to have been their handicap for not overpowering Disciples as expected, after also struggling to beat SuperSport United, who had five debutants in the MTN8 quarter-finals, and required extra-time to prevail 3-1.