Pirates coach happy with Bucs performance against Sundowns

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro will be hoping his charges display the same performance they did against Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 last weekend when they face Sekhukhune United in a DStv Premiership clash on Tuesday.

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Riveiro’s charges managed to hold favourites Sundowns to a goalless draw in the first leg of the semi-finals at the Orlando Stadium this past weekend.

Riveiro was happy with his charges’ performance, especially knowing the quality that Sundowns possess.

“Intense game, the game was played (intense) from the first minute to the 93rd minute. There was no time for anyone in the field to rest or to think twice because the game was very fast especially in the first half. I think we managed the first half very well in the way we wanted to approach the game, controlling the opponents, I think we did that quite right. But of course there were some adjustments because they can create some trouble because they have a lot of quality, but we didn’t suffer a lot in the first half,” said the Pirates mentor.

“But the last minutes with the fatigue, the emotions, substitutions, it was a different game. A bit crazy sometimes, but we finished with the aim of being very close to the advantage. But overall I am really happy with our performance.”

“We are still creating chances, clear ones. The chances that we miss are very close to the goal. We usually manage to arrive in good places to score. From our wing-backs, with two strikers, we modified a bit with the way we shape the team to have more probabilities and to progress in the build-up .”

Pirates next visit Sekhukhune at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday and Riveiro would be hoping that his charges bury the chances they create in this match.