Riveiro praises his Pirates players despite draw with SuperSport

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro believes their DStv Premiership tie against SuperSport United was the best he has seen his charges play so far, especially away from home.

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Riveiro is adamant that Pirates were at their best, despite the game ending in a goalless draw at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Sunday.

The Bucs coach says his charges performed better than SuperSport, but they were let down by fatigue in the last minutes of the match, which affected the players’ decision making.

“It was far our best game away, though the first half could have been better,” said Riveiro.

“We were conceding free kicks and corners and that is where SuperSport United are usually dangerous.
“But we dominated the game, we succeeded with high pressing and counter pressing. We were braver than three days ago (at Royal AM) or nine days ago in the away game in Cape Town.”

“The result creates a bit of uncertainty in the last 15 (minutes of the match) after many substitutions. I think we were much closer to scoring than SuperSport.

“But of course, there is a bit of fatigue when you are scheduled to play every after three games. If you don’t get the advantage in the first half or before one hour of the game, then the last minutes of the game are very difficult, because of fatigue and the decisions are not as good as when you’re fresh. Overall, I’m proud of the way the boys are progressing.”

With the draw, the Buccaneers have only managed to register eight points in their first five league games.
Pirates have, however, still jumped to third place on the league standings, two points behind AmaZulu FC, who are on top of the table.

The Soweto giants will now have to shift their focus to their next encounter, with a meeting against Marumo Gallants at the Orlando Stadium coming up tomorrow.