The Dutchman singled out Oupa Manyisa for special praise after the 22-year-old had the Chiefs midfielders, especially Reneilwe Letsholonyane, chasing his shadows as ‘Ezimnyama Ngenkani’ earned a point and avoided a third loss in a row to their bitter rivals.
“I think he (Manyisa) did a fantastic job. I have worked with him on his defensive and attacking qualities and now he has enough,” Krol said after the 1-1 draw at the FNB Stadium.
“All in all my players played very well. The fighting spirit was exceptional especially in the second half,” he said.
However, it was not all smiles for the Dutchman as he felt Pirates were denied a penalty with about 20 minutes to play when Ndumiso Mabena went down in the box under a challenge from Thomas Sweswe, but nothing was given.
“We could have had a penalty there so in the end we deserved more than the draw,” Krol said.The 61-year-old was coy though, in his response when asked whether Pirates, now back on top of the log courtesy of a better goal difference, can go on to claim their first League title since the 2002/03 season.
“We have eight matches to go and there are still about four candidates and as I said before, the big teams are going to lose points when you are not expecting it. This is a tough League… it is tough,” Krol added.