Riveiro praises Pirates players after hard-fought win over AmaZulu

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro was full of praise for his charges following their hard-fought victory over AmaZulu at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday.

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The Buccaneers came back from a goal down to win 4-2 and reached the semifinals of the Nedbank Cup.

Riveiro believes Pirates were the better team and they deserved the win against Usuthu.

“Proper football game, no? I think it was a good show from the beginning. We started the game very well, with a number of chances to get a comfortable advantage, we couldn’t [score the goals]. They capitalised on one mistake in our organisation, in a lateral cross,” said Riverio during an interview with SuperSport after the game.

“We came back just before half-time with a 1-1 and I think was not maybe at the level of the first half from our side, but we still dominated and created chances. I’m happy for the boys, they fought a lot.

“We played football when it was time to play football, we fought when it was time to fight. The cup games are like this, you have to play three, four different games inside 90 minutes and I think we were better in all of them,” added the Spanish coach.

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Riveiro was impressed with the good football that was displayed by his team.

“Today I’m not surprised but impressed with the way the team competed. We played good football but we also played with the heart. They played for the fans and the atmosphere today was incredible,” commented Riveiro.