‘A massive three points for us’: Riveiro as Pirates notch sixth straight win

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has described his team's 2-0 win over TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday as “massive” as it put Bucs six points ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns and closer to a new club record of seven successive wins in the league.

Pirates will reach a new club record of most successive victories in the league in the PSL era if they beat Richards Bay FC, who visit them at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday.   

Bucs last won six matches in a row in the 1996-1997 season, the inaugural season of the PSL in which Pirates finished third behind Kaizer Chiefs, with Manning Rangers winning the title. 

Goals in either half by Thalente Mbatha (16th minute) and Relebohile Mofokeng (72nd) ensured Bucs avenged the 1-0 loss they suffered against Galaxy in their third-last Premiership match in May when they were chasing the league last season. 

Despite playing this game without some of their regulars, including Patrick Maswanganyi, Deano van Rooyen and Monnapule Saleng, Riveiro's team looked strong and deserved the full spoils.

“It's always a tough one [against Galaxy],” Riveiro said. “It's an extremely difficult team to play against.

“They push you to play at a high tempo during the whole 90 minutes and the moment you want to slow down and control the game, they don't allow it.

“You have to keep going and we did a fantastic job today [Tuesday] in terms of the work ethic and consistency. We didn't concede goal chances,  though there were moments Galaxy managed to dominate us.

“It's a massive three points for us. We came here with a mentality to collect these three points after we lost 1-0 here just a few months ago.”

Mbatha and Mofokeng scored spectacular goals. As usual, Riveiro, though, refused to single out individuals when he was asked about Mofokeng's remarkable contribution to the team's excellent form this season. 

“He's contributing a lot to the collective, like many of our players,” the coach said of Mofokeng who celebrated his 20th birthday last week.

“We have talent and quality in every line and in every position. It's nice to see them playing together and interacting together. It's a luxury for me as a coach to have this sort of arsenal, this amount of quality in the squad.

“You look at the names tonight [Tuesday], probably we were missing some of our regulars as well but the ones coming to the field are getting accountability. They want to show they're here for the club and are committed to the objective we're looking for.”

With Bucs not part of the Carling Knockout Cup matches at the weekend after being stunned by Magesi FC in the first round, Riveiro said the extra days' break to their next match against Bay will give him a chance to fine-tune his charges more.