Young Pirates head coach Roger Fortune revealed what inspired them to attain promotion to Safa Cape Town’s Hollywoodbets Third Division this season.
Pirates along with Ashford Athletic have both managed to gain promotion to the fourth tier of South African football.
The experienced Fortune says he had to ditch his tactical talk and strategies at halftime and use a different approach to help them get the better of Mighty Stars by 1-0 during their semifinal clash at the Rooikrans Sport Complex on Sunday.
According to Fortune there is no way that Pirates would have achieved their objective without their loyal supporters who have been fantastic throughout the season.
“I told them (players) – look at the young kids and boys coming to support you,” Fortune told No Bones with Jones. “Sitting on the stands singing and jeering you on. The first half I could see my players were struggling as they were cramping, you know. But they stepped up another level in the second half with all their cramps and tiredness,” Fortune added.
It is safe to say that Pirates, who sold their second division status to Clarewood JPM in 2021, fully deserved their success and is the second outfit at the Heideveld LFA to attain promotion after Goal50 United a couple of seasons ago – not to mention neighbours Junction Rovers who ply their trade in the ABC Motsepe League.
Fortune stated that this achievement means the world to his players hailing from the flats as they had to dig deep with the amount of games played in a short space of time.
“Junction and Goal50 are there but the broader picture is more for the boys in the flats you know,” Fortune said to our website. “We are more based of the flats so this opportunity means a lot to them. Not to mention the area of Heideveld, you know. It’s also time we take Young Pirates back where they need to be,” Fortune concluded.
