Bucs coach Riveiro 'not worried' after failing to score in defeat against Sekhukhune

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro will look for his players to improve their finishing and score goals when they host Richards Bay at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.

Bucs failed to score in their past two games.

Pirates lost 2-0 against Sekhukhune United in a DStv Premiership match in Polokwane on Tuesday.

The loss came a few days after they drew 0-0 against Mamelodi Sundowns in the 1st leg of the MTN8 semi-final.

“We were not really playing the game we wanted [against Sekhukhune]. For different reasons, I think we changed after half-time,” Riveiro said of the loss to Sekhukhune.

Striker Elias Makwana scored two late goals for Babina Noko, giving his side their second league victory this season.

“We had a good beginning in the first 15 minutes and we had the game pretty much under control. I think the second part of the second half was not good.

“Just before the red card [Thabiso Monyane] we were close to taking the lead and in that moment we had the feeling that the situation was under control. We started to play more close to their box and a bit higher on the pitch, but still not close to our best.

“Thereafter there was a red card and we started a different game to modify our distribution on the field. With [Vincent] Pule, [Deon] Hotto and Kermit [Erasmus] we managed to create the most clear chances and that’s what I would have wanted at that moment.”

Riveiro said he wasn't losing hope of his team turning the corner and starting to score goals and winning games.

“No, I have been asked this question [ability of his team to score goals] too many times. I’m not worried, no.”

Tuesday's defeat came as a result of desperation, trying to get an equaliser after Makwana opened the scoring in the 80th minute. 

“We were disorganised on the field and we were looking for a goal to at least get one point,” said the Spaniard.

“With the players tired because we played a lot of minutes one man down, it’s normal to have one mistake. We had one more and in that mistake the opponent got the advantage to score the second goal and that was the end of the story.”

Monyane's red card came when Riveiro and his technical team were contemplating replacing Monyane, who earned the first yellow card in the first half.

“We substitute every player who gets a yellow card before the end of the game, but sometimes we don’t make the substitution.

“The players need to understand there are different situations in the game that they need to keep under control and manage to play sometimes with one yellow card. Sometimes we didn’t have any problem in that area [right-back where Monyana was playing]. It was unexpected and that’s it.”

In Richards Bay, Riveiro's team will face one the of the in-form teams. The PSL rookies have been a surprise package, winning three of their past four games to move to second, behind Mamelodi Sundowns on the Premiership log.

A win on Saturday will take Richards Bay one point clear of Sundowns with 20 from 10 matches.

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