Cape Town - Orlando Pirates skipper Oupa Manyisa felt it was a lack of cutting edge in front of goal that ultimately led to their defeat at the hands of Zamalek.
The Buccaneers were hoping to lay down a marker against the Egyptian giants, who had also recorded a victory in their opening Group B encounter at the end of June.
However, they were unable to make the most of their goalscoring chances when it mattered as they suffered a 2-1 defeat in Nelspruit.
Reflecting on what was a disappointing result, Manyisa said: "There was nothing that went wrong for us, the only thing was that Zamalek took their chances and we didn't convert ours."
When asked if he felt that Pirates' lack of competitive action in pre-season had affected the result, Manyisa added: "For us we take [pre-season] as a team-building because we've been together for a while now [since the PSL season ended].
"It's not pre-season for us, it's only to rectify the areas that we have been lacking in."