Pirates’ Riveiro – we’re getting closer

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says it is important for the Buccaneers to continue their winning momentum if they are to reach their target of finishing second in the league and to qualify for next season’s Caf Champions League.

The Buccaneers, who edged a 10-man AmaZulu outfit 1-0 in a DStv Premiership match at Orlando Stadium on Saturday, have collected seven points in their last three games and have scored nine goals in the process.

“We need to win week in and week out, we really need to do it the way we would like to do it and play the way would like to play the game and everything else is a consequence,” said Riveiro.

“We don’t play for the result, the result is a consequence of doing things better than the opponents and recently we managed to do it in most minutes of the game and in most phases of the game and that’s why we’re getting the results.

“We just want to do it our way and right now we’re getting closer to being the team we want to be in the next month, in the future, next season, but there’s still room for improvement and we’re taking it game by game,” he added.

‘Highly complicated game’

Riveiro was full of praise for AmaZulu, saying they gave them a good run for their money on Saturday.  

“It was a highly complicated game as expected because we just played a week ago so we know each other well.

“It was like a second leg and both teams approached the match in that manner. It was very tactical in the beginning, it was a 50-50 game in terms of control, the time it was eleven versus eleven. Our opponents were slightly better, slightly comfortable in the beginning (of the match, we didn’t start with the pace that we were looking for.

“After the red card, it was normal that little by little, we started taking control of the game even though I think they did well with a player less.

“They tried to play and not sit in a low block immediately and they had good opportunities in transition and set pieces even though they were not really clear, but they gave us that feeling of threat. I think we did well in terms of defence in the second half, especially in the last 30 to 35 minutes.”