Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer has provided insight into his side's seemingly drab performance away to Angolan side Sagrada Esperanca on Tuesday.
Pirates narrowly edged Esperanca away from home in their first round first leg CAF Confederation Cup encounter in Luanda thanks to a lone strike from Thembinkoch Lorch.
The Buccaneers faithful were unable to tune in to witness the encounter after a live stream was not made available, while the club's official Twitter account also offered limited updates.
This led to the belief that the Soweto outfit found the going extremely difficult against a largely unknown opponent, and Zinnbauer has since explained what led to their struggles to walk away with a more convincing aggregate scoreline.
"It was a tough game for us, the weather was very hot and the field was not so good - there was long grass and bouncy a little bit for the ball," Zinnbauer reacted to Pirates' media team.
Check out a selection of images from Pirates' game in Luanda
"But from minute to minute, we became better in the game against a very strong defensive team with man-marking systems, so it was not so easy for our players.
"We have special players on the field that want more space and they want one-against-one, but when you always have an opponent on your back then it's not so easy.
"But they did a good job today, it [turned out] very well, especially the result. This was a team effort today, and congratulations to Lorch, who scored a top goal.
"The away-goal was important for us and we didn't concede, which is also important for us."
The return leg is scheduled for Orlando Stadium on January 5/6, just a few days after their opening clash of 2021, which is a league encounter against Mamelodi Sundowns on Jan 2.