We’ll try our best again, Riveiro says as Bucs focus on league after cup defeat

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro found it hard to explain the club’s first cup defeat since his arrival in SA at the beginning of last season.        

Riveiro had won three successive cup finals with Pirates before seeing his team succumb to a 5-4 defeat on penalties to Richards Bay FC to bow out of the Carling Knockout Cup at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday.

What made it hard for the Spanish-born Bucs coach to explain the defeat was the fact his team had more than 70% of possession and 12 shots on goal, but still failed to beat a KwaZulu-Natal side that has been struggling since gaining promotion to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) last season. 

“I didn’t check the stats but I guess they’re [his team’s stats] ridiculous again,” said the Pirates coach.

“It’s difficult to explain that we should be getting heavier scores but we’re not managing to win the games. We need to insist and try find solutions to capitalise on the chances we create.

“I don’t know today how many attempts, how many shots and how much possession [we had] but the game doesn’t have any history and I cannot tell you anything special. It was one team [Pirates] on the ball, one team defending and playing long balls to find one transition. The team [Pirates] trying to play had not the capacity to capitalise on all that we created on the field. 

“Going to the penalties, we missed the first one and today we’re not the team celebrating. It’s Richards Bay and we move on to the next one. We’re playing on Tuesday, which is fantastic as we continue with this momentum of playing every two days. We’re all busy and we’ll have to show character on Tuesday in Orlando against Sekhukhune United,” he said. 

Riveiro admitted that Bucs’ poor form in the PSL, where his team has collected just two points from their last four games, contributed to their cup loss as they had no winning momentum.

“When you’re playing every three or two days, if you’re winning at least the mood is different, but when you’re not getting the results it’s tough for the boys. It’s very difficult, but the level they showed today [Saturday], the level of commitment was excellent but we didn’t get the result.”

Riveiro said winning Tuesday’s match against Sekhukhune was crucial because they’re playing Kaizer Chiefs in the Soweto derby at FNB Stadium on Saturday.

Asked if he was concerned about the reaction of the fans because of the poor run, Riveiro sounded confident of still having their backing. “Fans are fans, we lost today and they must be upset. Everyone has an opinion in football and there’s nothing I can do. The only thing we can do is sleep well, eat well and recover because on Tuesday we have to come back again.”