Bucs coach puts positive spin on Sundowns thrashing

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says the difference in quality between them and Mamelodi Sundowns will only be seen at the end of the season after his side were thumped 4-1 by the Brazilians at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday.

Sundowns showed their superiority in quality against the Buccaneers as they outmuscled them in all departments to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points.

As Sundowns produced a strong performance to embarrass their closest rivals for the title after goals from Grant Kekana, a brace by Lucas Ribeiro Costa and the other by Teboho Mokoena, many have started to doubt the Buccaneers’ quality.

Deon Hotto scored the consolation goal early in the first half.

“The difference between the two teams will be shown at the end of the season. We will see if we are at the same level and if the difference is big or not,” Riveiro said.

“The difference is never in one game, even when we beat them in the final in the Nedbank Cup the difference between these two teams was not there. They were better than us [on Saturday] to find the way to win this match despite the circumstances [poor state of the pitch].” 

Despite the embarrassing defeat, the Spaniard insists motivating the players won’t be difficult.

“It is game number 14 and we have to play 16 games. We have to play the CAF Champions League and the Nedbank Cup. This is just one game, he said.

“It’s not nice to lose 4-1. It is not nice to lose here because we came here to compete and collect points. This is football. We are used to winning and losing games, so it is not going to be a problem. We didn’t lose a final, we just lost three points.”

Riveiro also said the Kaizer Chiefs and Sekhukhune matches took their toll on the players, so they were not the same against Sundowns.

“We played Sekhukhune away. We never beat them before during my time at Pirates, but we managed to get another three points. Now we are here with Sundowns competing as hell, the way we ran on the field despite the 4-1.

“If I look at the week we had, I’m positive about how we are doing things. We are competing in all competitions and we have a title in our cabinet this season.”