Could Pirates’ youngster Ratomo get a chance to play against Chiefs?

Following Relebohile Ratomo’s impressive debut for Orlando Pirates, head coach Jose Riveiro says he didn’t include the young attacker in the starting line-up against Royal AM just to give him a chance to play, but for him to help the club win.  

Now the questions is whether the teenager will get an opportunity when the Buccaneers take on Amakhosi on Saturday in the Nedbank Cup semifinals.

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Ratomo has been training with Pirates‘ senior team for some weeks, following explosive performances for the Diski Challenge side.  The teenager was on top of his game against Royal AM, and was unfortunate not to have scored in that match. 

But his shot in the second half helped Pirates take the lead as it deflected of Thwihli Thwahla’s Ellias Pelembe, before going into the net.  The Buccaneers, however, ended up playing to a 1-1 with Royal AM in a DStv Premiership tie at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday.  

“I am not here to give chances, I am here to win games, help the team to win games and Ratomo was in the field to help us to win the game,” said the Pirates coach.  

“He’s having his development process as a youngster and as a young player that he is. If I play Rele (Ratomo) in the starting 11, I understand how important the game is … for us. I’m not here to … help the team to win games and Rele was in the field to help us to win the game.” 

Pirates are preparing to take on Kaizer Chiefs in a Nedbank Cup semifinal clash at FNB Stadium on Saturday.  

Ringing the changes

Riveiro made a number of changes in the previous game, and with games coming quick and fast. The Spaniard says he knew that fatigue was bound to hit his players, especially after some intense games.  

“It’s easier to say I’m happy with the performance when you win. Even sometimes it’s not totally true but today they did everything. (it is about) understanding the difficulties of the matter when you change seven players in the starting 11. I said before it’s difficult to perform,” Riveiro continued.  

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“We played just 70 hours before the kick-off, and we had a very intense game against TS Galaxy. We knew that at some point … we were going to feel it … it’s an unusual schedule and I think it was an unusual game.”