Jose Riveiro believes his Pirates side deserved more than nothing from their game against Stellenbosch. Picture: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro did not believe his side deserved to lose on Sunday, after they went down 1-0 to Stellenbosch FC in the Betway Premiership at Orlando Stadium.
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It was the Buccaneers’ first dropped points of the season, on the back of seven successive victories.
“I don’t think our performance today was a zero point performance,” the Pirates coach told reporters after the match, though he did also praise Steve Barker’s Stellies for their win.
“They fought in an incredible way, in every action, for every metre, and in the end they got the three points. There are no dramas, no one is invincible, this was our first defeat in the league,” added Riveiro.
“Now it is time to recover and start again. We have a big game on Saturday and will prepare for that.”
Pirates will play Egyptian giants Al Ahly at home on Saturday in the group stages of the Caf Champions League, and will have to make better use of their attacking opportunities than they did on Sunday.
“We had a good beginning in the match … we threatened to score early .. as we planned .. but we did not captialise,” added Riveiro.
The Pirates coach also partly blamed the pitch, after his side conceded possession just before Stellenbosch’s Devin Titus scored the only goal of the game in the 33rd minute.
“It was difficult to play in the central corridor. The field was extremely dry in the daytime, and we could not be precise enough (with our passing),” said Riveiro.
“After one of those losses (of possession), they found Titus in a good position to run on the transition and he scored well.”
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For Stellies, this was a fine win, and a repeat of their success at Pirates in the Premiership last season. Steve Barker’s side bounced back quickly from a loss away from home to Stade Malien in the Caf Confederation Cup in midweek.
Now they will hope to get their Confed Cup group stage campaign back on track with a home game against Morocco’s RSB Berkane on Sunday.
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