Baxter gave his players 'a rocket'

Cape Town - SuperSport United coach Stuart Baxter admitted he had some strong words in the change-room at half-time after his side found themselves 1-0 down against Orlando Pirates.

Both teams had enjoyed numerous scoring chances in the opening stanza at the Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday night, but it was Bucs who capitalised two minutes before the break when Tendai Ndoro converted Thabo Rakahle's cross.

The second-half proved to be an entirely different story, however, as Matsatsantsa completely overran Pirates, scoring three goals in six minutes before adding another three to their tally later in the game.

The result took the Pretoria side to within two points of the summit, while Pirates coach Muhsin Ertugral offered his resignation live on television after the game.

"To be fair, I was not happy at half-time because I thought we were worth at least going in equal, but we gave up a silly goal and Pirates took full advantage," Baxter explained.

"We hadn't really stuck to what we said we were going to do before the game and second half we put a couple of things right tactically and I put a bit of a rocket inside a few of them [the players] and I thought it was one of the best performances I have had in South Africa.

"What we were talking about was our movement around the box," he continued, "we had to be brighter, we had to be sharper, and in this weather, if you use the pitch, instead of having it as an enemy, it can be good to you.

"In my dreams it would have been very nice [to win by such a magnitude], but you don't think about beating Chiefs, Pirates and Sundowns, the top teams, 6-1. We know we can beat them, but it’s a bit of a fairytale story isn't it?"

Meanwhile, Orlando Pirates have confirmed that Muhsin Ertugral has left his post as head coach.