Soweto derby was far from our minds: Almenara after Pirates’ unconvincing win

Orlando Pirates' players were not thinking about the upcoming Soweto derby against arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs when they delivered an unconvincing 2-1 victory over Maritzburg United at the Orlando Stadium on Friday, Bucs assistant coach Sergio Almenara insisted.

Goals by Monnapule Saleng a minute into the first half of added time and Terrence Dzvukamanja in the 71st gave the Buccaneers all three points and moved them to the third place in the DStv Premiership.

Pirates have a showdown with Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday where revenge may be on Bucs' minds after suffering a 1-0 loss in the first round.

The battle for who finishes second behind runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns will add spice to the derby as Chiefs, along with SuperSport United and PSL rookies Richards Bay, have a chance of fighting for a slot that secures a place in next season's Caf Champions League. 

“We tried to make sure it [the Soweto derby] doesn't affect us at all. That was our target,” said Almenara who, with Pirates' other assistant Mandla Ncikazi, took charge in the dugout against United as head coach Jose Riveiro watched from the stands. Riveiro was suspended after receiving a red card in Pirates' win against All Stars in a Nedbank Cup last 23 match last weekend.

“We cannot be in the mind of every player in the squad, but obviously what we're trying is focus on the opponent we have. We can't control certain things but what we can control is the message and all the guidance we're providing throughout the week.

“What we did here and this week was nothing related to the Chiefs game.”  

Almenara added they did had some kind of communication with Riveiro during Friday's match but added that the impact of coaches during matches is, in any case, limited.

“Coaches make a bigger impact during the week at training,” said Almenara, who joined Pirates with Riveiro at the start of the 2022-23 campaign.

“During the game we try to impact as much as we can. The halftime break is key but today [Friday], with the use of technology, we were able to connect with him [Riveiro].”

Saleng once again showed how vital he is as a player for Pirates, notching up his fifth league goal of the season before providing an assist via a set piece for Dzvukamanja to net his second of the season.

But Almenara refused to single out Saleng as a player who's had more impact than others at Bucs this season.

“For us all the players are important,” said the assistant coach, who is in his fourth year working with Spanish compatriot Riveiro.

“Saleng and all the other players are all pushing for a starting position. For us all the players are important, especially for the way we're playing.”

Almenara admitted Pirates did not have the control of the match they wished to have in both halves and their final passes were awful in cases where they had a chance to hurt their visitors. 

“In the first half, because of some positional adjustments, we were not able to do what we needed to, especially in the last third.

“It created some problems and we had to fix it at halftime. Luckily for us we did score a second goal in a set piece situation but we didn't create as much as we expected to.” 

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