Pirates will be ‘permanently under threat’ from Stellies in MTN8 final: Riveiro

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro acknowledges there is not much separating his team from Stellenbosch FC and he expects a closely contested clash when they meet in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.

Both clubs have started the 2024-2025 season well, with Pirates winning eight and drawing two of their 10 matches in all competitions while Steve Barker's Stellies have won seven, lost one and drawn two of their 10. 

Riveiro has also not forgotten Bucs only managed to beat Stellies once, 2-1 in the first leg of the MTN8 semifinal last season, and lost the second leg 1-0 but reached the final on their away goal, while Bucs lost twice against Stellies in the league. 

Though Pirates will easily have most support at Moses Mabhida and have won four of the past five finals, including two in the MTN8, Riveiro said Stellies, who won the other cup trophy on offer in that period, cannot be underestimated.

“We respect them big time. We faced Stellenbosch four times last season, we beat them once. It took 94 minutes in Athlone to beat them and we didn't get the results in any of the other games.”

Barker's team play to a hard-pressing, quick counterattacking gameplan in which new attackers Lehlogonolo Mojela (from TS Galaxy) and Sanele Barns (Richards Bay) have fitted well. Riveiro said there will be no time for Pirates to relax in Saturday's final.

“We know what it means to play Stellenbosch. We have to accept it is going to be a game where we're going to be under threat because there are going to be transitions.

“It doesn't matter how well we prepare for that situation, we know it's coming. We know Barns, we know [Devin] Titus, we know [Andre] De Jong, we know Mojela and Jayden [Adams]. We know the capacity they have to play it forward quickly. 

“We know how aggressive they are with the press — it's the top team in the league, in the PSL's tournaments. [We know] how aggressive they are with Mojela as a striker — he's always top in the forwards committed [to chase] and they're aggressive [when] they lose the ball.

“We know that's one of the moments we need to control and be close to perfection — if we do it we'll be close to winning the match and if we don't we know the result will be compromised.”

Knowing Stellies' strength will not mean Pirates will sit back and not try to impose their game on the winelands team.

The Pirates coach believes it will be in the periods where they are in control of the game where Bucs can win Saturday's match — a result that would see his team becoming the first club to win the competition three times in succession since its inception in 1972.

“It doesn't mean we're going to deny ourselves the possibility to play football. We have the team we have, we play the brand of football we play.

“We're going to try to do it again in the final, accepting the challenge. It's important to not panic when it [transitions] happens, to understand if they have one or two transitions it's going to be the normal thing in the game.

“Transition is something you can neutralise in many different parts of the transition. Sometimes they'll have time and space to run, but it doesn't mean the final part is going to be dangerous.”

Pirates are holding their breath on the availability of in-form winger Monnapule Saleng and defender Olisa Ndah, who missed the 1-0 Premiership win against Richards Bay in Durban on Sunday with injuries. Riveiro said he will know by the end of the week whether they will be ready for the final.