Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says the Richard Ofori tactical decision against Jwaneng Galaxy was purely a psychological ploy.
The Pirates technical team substituted Chiane before penalties only for them to be knocked out 5-4 in the shootout with Ofori saving none of the spot-kicks.
After the game, the Spaniard described Ofori as a ‘specialist’ in the heat of the moment but a week later, Chaine went on to become the hero with three saves in the MTN8 final shootout as they downed Mamelodi Sundowns 3-1.
“The penalty? Against Jwaneng, it’s a different approach… we had to play for the qualification against a team we no nothing about for penalties, there’s no material, there’s nothing to analyse, you go blindly,” Riveiro explained.
“So where we tried something different, sometimes those kinds of decisions are more mental towards the opponent, to try to destabilise, mind games, to say this is the good one in penalties for you.
“As I said, they knew [what to do], we didn’t because there’s no reference [on them] for penalties, in terms of how their keepers behave, how their takers behave, then you can have a plan.
“It didn’t work but [the MTN8 final] is different, both teams know each other, we know the keeper, we know the [penalty] takers in the same way they do. We have more influence in what is happening there, our goalkeeper coach, analysis department, that’s what they do.
“So you have more information and more probabilities to succeed, today it works, I don’t want to say it’s a lottery, now, not anymore. In the Champions League game, it was, we knew nothing. We tried a different strategy, which didn’t work but we move…
Pirates have now won back-to-back MTN8 titles as they continue their domestic cup dominance from last season.
