Orlando Pirates may have put up a decent performance against Mamelodi Sundowns in their first leg MTN8 semi-final but head coach Jose Riveiro says there was no celebratory mood in the dressing room.
Pirates continued their progress under the Spaniard this season with another gutsy display as they continued to build their new identity which has been evident from their first game of the season at Orlando Stadium when they beat Swallows 1-0.
While there’s been a notable lack of goals despite playing some fluid attacking football, Riveiro feels another impressive display and adhering to tactical instructions bring them close to their goals for this season – a collective and unified approach to games.
“The outcome of [the Sundowns] game is positive for us, even though it’s not a party in the dressing room, we wanted to win the game and we drew,” he explained in the post-match press conference when asked whether the result brings the confidence of advancing to the final.
“It’s just the first half, we have to continue, go back to the PSL [league games], we’re going to play Sekhukhune, we want to win, we want to continue close to the top in the league because we’re ambitious.
“The second leg still is coming after four games, 12 points, October is going to be very tough for everyone and we don’t want to lose track of that.
“So our focus is 100 percent on the PSL games and let’s see what we can prepare for the second leg. But this performance [against Sundowns] is going to help us in our processes.”
Pirates will face off against Sekhukhune United on Tuesday, followed by league outings against Richards Bay, AmaZulu and Golden Arrows before the return leg against the reigning domestic treble champions.
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