The pressure is mounting on Orlando Pirates coach Ruud Krol after he saw his side's winless run extended to seven matches following the 1-1 draw with Maritzburg United.

Despite Bucs' failure to pick up three points since September 23, the Dutch mentor has refused to press the panic button.

He blamed poor defending from set-pieces and his side's failure to capitalise on their lead for the disappointing draw against the Team Of Choice, which leaves Pirates in sixth spot.

"You get your opportunities and you have to take them," Krol said.

"We went ahead and had more chances but then gave a goal away from a set-piece. Defenders have to attack the ball when it comes into the box but we just stood and watched to let them score."

With star midfielder Teko Modise and winger Dikgang Mabalane on the bench, Pirates lacked creativity during an incident-free opening half hour, but Lucky Lekgwathi fired Pirates in front ahead of the break. But they were hit by a sucker punch just after the interval and then could not find a way through United's resolute defence.

"Some players who were in form last year aren't the same year and it's crucial that you have that when you are aiming for the title," added Krol, whose side face Bloemfontein Celtic on Sunday.

"I have to look at how they play and decide on a game plan. We have to come up with a better strategy of how to create chances but hopefully with a few players coming back from injury we can start improving results."

For Maritzburg coach Gordon Igesund, a point gained at the home of the club he led to the PSL title in 2001, was only marred by the dismissal of Dikulu Bageta.

"He's an international player so should know better," said Igesund.

"I spoke to him afterwards and he told me he had asked the referee why he was stopping the clock when a player was down injured. He should know that is the rule so he was stupid to question the referee, especially because we were drawing away from home with time running out.

"Coming away from home, a point is always a good result but I'm disappointed with the way we defended for their goal. I thought a point was the least that we deserved from the match because we went into the game with a positive formation and tried to take the game to Pirates. It was a tough game for both teams and I think a draw was the right result," concluded Igesund.