Fans help Pirates clinch double over Chiefs

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro could not hide his joy after becoming the second Bucs coach after Ruud Krol to complete a league double over Kaizer Chiefs.

The Spaniard clinched this at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, where a brace by Monnapule Saleng and scorcher by derby debutant Thabitso Lebitso gave the Buccaneers a deserved 3-2 Premier Soccer League victory. 

Pirates beat Chiefs 1-0 in November’s derby.

Chiefs striker Ashley du Preez also scored a brace in a match watched by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Riveiro thanked the hordes of Bucs fans at the stadium, saying their vocal backing made it easier for his team to secure the three points that lifted them to second place in Premiership.

In almost every derby Chiefs fans dominate in the stands but Pirates’ support in Saturday’s match looked to be more than that of Chiefs.

Perhaps it was the deflating last 32 Nedbank Cup loss Chiefs suffered against Milford FC last weekend, confirming a ninth season without a trophy, that kept Chiefs supporters away.

It was the second time in 56 derbies since the PSL era, from 1996, that Pirates beat Chiefs twice in a season.

The only other season the Buccaneers did that was in 2008/09 under Dutch coach Krol.

But Chiefs still hold the bragging rights in terms of the number of doubles won since 1996, with four, in 2005/06, 2019/20, 2021/22 and 2022/23.

“The atmosphere today from the warm-up was something else,” a beaming Riveiro said.

“The energy at the stadium, I can tell you that it is very special. They [Pirates’ fans] made it possible today.

“I think the last derby [in November] was the opposite. There was the majority of the Chiefs fans but today the Pirates fans dominated the stands.

“Its probably one of the reasons we performed the way we did because today we didn’t feel there was no support when things were not going our way.”

Riveiro was asked if winning a derby tastes sweeter to him than winning a cup final, which he has done three times in his two seasons at Bucs.

“Both are important,” the Pirates coach said. “I don’t like to [compare].”

Meanwhile, Chiefs coach Cavin Johnson shrugged off what seemed harsh words directed at him by reserve goalkeeper Brandon Petersen as part of the occasion, and said he wanted his players to show their emotions.

Videos circulated on social media appear to show Petersen remonstrating with Johnson but the coach suggested the goalkeeper was having to shout over the noise of the huge crowd, and said even if Petersen was animated he could only encourage such a reaction from his players.

“It was just the normal chat with the coach, [him saying] ‘coach we lost the game, why do we have to fight?” Johnson said. Pressed if that was “normal” from a player, Johnson said: “Ja, did you see Kevin de Bruyne telling Pep Guardiola to shut up?

“It’s normal. I want my players to react when we lose. And if they react to me then I take all of that on my shoulder because tomorrow I will fix up whatever [issue related to] the reaction was.”