‘Almost done not real in football’: Riveiro urges Pirates to finish off Jwaneng

Orlando Pirates cannot be expected to fire on all cylinders all the time, but they will always strive for a positive result, coach Jose Riveiro said after Bucs’ hard fought 2-1 victory over Chippa United in their opening Betway Premiership match on Wednesday.

Pirates' coach admitted his team were mainly off-tune at Orlando Stadium, especially in a first half in which Chippa took the lead via former Buccaneer Andile Jali.

However, Pirates responded through Tshegofatso Mabasa’s penalty on the stroke of half time before Monnapule Saleng’s last-gasp header ensured the win.

Riveiro admitted it was not how they intended to earn an opening win but he was happy to see his side showing resilience, which ultimately brought the result. “I was not surprised about the difficulty of the game but we made it even more so in the first half. We didn’t find the proper rhythm on the ball and we were extremely slow in ball circulation,” the coach said.

The Spaniard was pleased his side upped the tempo when they needed to, especially in the last 10 minutes of the first half, a period where Saleng earned the penalty converted by Mabasa.

Riveiro said the victory should act as a boost in their aim to secure a place in the group stages of the Caf Champions League. Pirates have one foot in the door after beating Botswana side Jwaneng Galaxy 2-0 in Gaborone in the first leg of their second preliminary round tie last week, and will look to defend that lead in Orlando on Saturday. 

“Almost done is not real in football. The truth is we have to play a second game against an extremely difficult team, and we have to do it in a level better than today. That’s what we need to learn from today’s game. We cannot allow the opponent, especially here in Orlando, to lead the game. I think Chippa deserved their lead because they were looking for that much more than we were [at that stage].

“It’s something we cannot allow to happen. But overall, we need to be satisfied with the momentum, the game and distance we’re already covering this season, which is not a minor thing.”

Riveiro was pleased with how his team improved their work rate in the second half and wants to see that carried to Jwaneng’s game at the weekend. “We worked hard in the second half. The boys put in an effort, we pushed and had to throw everything [at them] to get the goal. Nothing comes for free, so we cannot pretend to want to be perfect all the time.

“It’s not possible. We have to give value to the points because Chippa came here having had a lot of time to prepare for every possible scenario.”

One aspect Riveiro is not worried about is the depth of his squad. He confirmed he has three-and-a-half starting XIs and all the players will be ready to play when matches come thick and fast in the coming weeks. “There’s going to be time for all of them in the near future in the next games because we need everybody.

“We are lucky we have a lot of players fit and ready to go. It’s about when the coach decides it's a moment and the responsibility is to be ready to deliver. Probably in the coming games there will be variations in the starting XI and new faces too.”

After Jwaneng, Pirates play league games against Polokwane City in Orlando on Tuesday and Richards Bay away on September 29 before heading to Durban for the MTN8 final against Stellenbosch FC on October 6.