Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says Sipho Chaine and all their goalkeepers are capable of fulfilling the tactical roles required of them.
Chaine, 26, joined Pirates earlier this season as a replacement for Wayne Sandilands in the squad whilst Richard Ofori was out injured.
And while Siyabonga Mpontshane initially filled in for the Ghana international, the former Chippa goalkeeper has started each of the last five league games, keeping one clean sheet.
But he came under the microscope against Mamelodi Sundowns as they allowed him to have plenty of possession which, to some degree, he cracked in certain instances with a misplaced pass that led to Cassius Mailula’s early goal at Orlando Stadium.
“We’re running and working with the intention to be a team which is trying to play in possession with 11 players and out of possession with 11 players as well, that is the objective,” Riveiro said when asked by iDiski Times if Chaine fits his tactical plan.
“We really need to…, especially against teams like this [Sundowns], we need to count and use the goalkeeper like a football player when we’re in possession and we try to do it, it doesn’t matter who is in goal.
“I think… no, I know when we play the MTN8 first leg here in Orlando, we all agreed we dominated the game as well with the ball from the back and Richard Ofori was playing. We did it in a different way, we tried to use the strengths we have on the field.
“As you said, we have different profiles in that position and we tried to get better use of them when they are on the field. All of them have great levels to be Pirates keepers and we keep working on it.”
The Spaniard denied suggestions that it was an attempt to frustrate a possession-dominant Sundowns or time-wasting and pointed to the role of Ronwen Williams as a case in point.
“My goalkeeper wasting time? No, no. I think we were at a disadvantage most times, I think Sundowns scored after seven minutes, somewhere there. We know if we want to beat Sundowns, a team like Sundowns, one of the important things to do, is to reduce the percentage of possession,” Riveiro added.
“If I’m not mistaken we have 60% possession, I don’t know when was the last time Sundowns lost possession against one team in the PSL, probably not so frequent. We cannot do that without the keeper, we cannot do it, it’s that simple.
“There’s one game to play in our side, it’s eight and six, nine against six, we need to play with the keeper if we want to reduce the level of possession, I’m talking too much today I think.
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“If my keeper has the ball, they have 10 players to press, Williams is not going to join the pressing right? So if someone is going to my keeper, there is one player free, that’s the way, it’s the same Sundowns does. How many times was Williams on the ball? Pretty much the same as Sipho, so not much different from what the teams wanted to do.”
Pirates now turn their attention to the Nedbank Cup where they face Motsepe Foundation Championship side All Stars at Bidvest Stadium on Saturday evening.
