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"I won't say not conceding guarantees you winning, but you are close to winning," said Riveiro.
Jose Riveiro, coach of Orlando Pirates. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu
Ahead of this coming weekend’s CAF Champions League semi-final first leg clash against Pyramids, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has emphasised the importance of keeping clean sheets in important games.
The Buccaneers, who are the only unbeaten side left in this season’s competition, go into this clash against the high-scoring Egyptian side at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, having not conceded a goal in their last four games in all competitions.
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Their latest clean sheet was against Marumo Gallants in the semifinals of the Nedbank Cup at Orlando Stadium last Sunday, which Pirates won 1-0.
In Pyramids, Pirates face a side that has scored 18 goals in eight CAF Champions League matches this season, and they will need to be at their best to try and stop the likes of Fiston Mayele and others at Soccer City on Saturday. Pirates have netted 11 from the same number of games.
“Not conceding is important, especially when your team is full of quality and players with the capacity to score goals. I won’t say not conceding guarantees you winning, but you are close to winning,” said Riveiro.
Riveiro was pleased with what his team achieved in the “key week” last week, reaching the semifinals of the Champions League and the Nedbank Cup final, and is looking forward to another “cup final” against Pyramids.
“We managed to go through probably the key week of the season. Every game we are going to play is going to be a cup final. The points in the league are expensive, so we know it’s going to be difficult, and the games probably are not going to be as open as they were early in the season.
“Being in the Nedbank Cup final is something to appreciate, to celebrate, to embrace. We are in a good moment as a team in everything.” commented Riveiro.
Pirates reached the final of the CAF Champions League after a hard-fought 1-0 aggregate win over MC Alger in the quarter-finals. The Buccaneers beat the Algerian side 1-0 away before playing to a goalless draw in Orlando.
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Pyramids, the surprise package of this year’s tournament, edged AS FAR Rabat 4-3 on aggregate to reach the semifinal of the CAF Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. They convincingly beat Rabat 4-1 in the first leg of their quarterfinal clash at home before losing 2-0 in Morocco in the second leg.
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