Riveiro On Losing To Chiefs Twice In In The League

Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro admits he would have loved to have the six points lost against Kaizer Chiefs this season but says the progress of his squad is easy to see.

Pirates ended their five-match losing run to Chiefs with a 2-1 extra-time victory in the Nedbank Cup semi-final where they will now face off against Sekhukhune United in the final on May 27 at Loftus Versfeld in Tshwane.

And while it was a historic moment for the Buccaneers, who’ve already won the MTN8 in Riveiro’s debut season and are on course to qualify for the CAF Champions League, he admits he would have liked to have secured victories over their fierce rivals in the league too.

“I would really would [have] liked to have those six points in our pocket, it was tough losing those games. So yeah, obviously at the end of the season we will see if we really needed those points or not, but if we got it, probably the scenario could have been different,” Riveiro, who was named Coach of the Month on April, said about the double league defeat to Amakhosi.

“But it’s only speculation 1683565973. The important thing as I said before, we feel we’re progressing, we can’t play at a very good level every single game for 90 minutes, today is one example, we did it well in some moments of the game, but in other moments Chiefs were better, but still, we managed to be competitive.

“That is the most important thing, even when you’re not at your best, or you’re suffering [you make it] difficult for your opponent, and we’re not an easy team to play against. 

“Every week we try to do things little by little better, and I think there’s never been a problem with understanding what we want to do, but there are games and games. But I’m happy, we move and the progression is easy to see.”

Pirates face Babina Noko and AmaZulu in their final two league games before the domestic cup final that ends off the 2022/23 season in South Africa.