Jwaneng Galaxy loss Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro was disappointed with the level of sharpness of his players in their CAF Champions League shock 1-0 defeat to Jwaneng Galaxy in Botswana on Sunday afternoon.
Riveiro’s men had a poor start to the first leg of the second preliminary round clash at the National Stadium in Gaborone as took the lead in the 21st minute of the game.
Zimbabwean attacker Daniel Msendami scored the winner for Galaxy with Kitso Mangolo providing the assist.
Riveiro was not happy with the mindset of his troops against Galaxy, a team led by a South African, Morena Ramoreboli, who coached Bafana Bafana at the recently concluded 2023 COSAFA Cup in Durban.
It seems Ramoreboli has Pirates number as he beat the Soweto giants while coaching Maluti FET College back in 2013 in the Nedbank Cup.
Pirates will host Galaxy in a must-win second-leg match at Orlando Stadium during the last week of September.
JOSE RIVEIRO REACTS TO DEFEAT AGAINST GALAXY
“A typical cup and knockout game. We didn’t start well. I don’t know if it is the approach or the mindset problem of what the game requires,” said Riveiro.
“Our level of aggressiveness in the duels was not good enough in the first half. The opponent was more aggressive than us, and little by little, they were pushing the game to their side so they could give more hope to win the match.
“On transition in one set piece and really bad defending allowed them to take the lead, and from that, usually we start a different game. “I think everyone can reach their own conclusions about the rhythm of the game and the interruptions.”
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However, the Pirates tactician said the tie is far from over, insisting that they have a chance to turn things around in the return leg at Orlando Stadium towards the end of September.
Riveiro also revealed what his men did to do right in order to get a positive result in the second leg in Soweto.
“So 1-0 is not the result that we were looking for, but we knew that it would be difficult to decide the game here for both sides, so still we have to play one more game,” he added.
“We couldn’t find the precision in the last meters. It is difficult to deal with a 1-0 score in a knockout game. It’s not like in a league game, you are much more in a hurry and much more stressed.
“Probably the thing that we need to do better in the second leg is to understand that we are chasing a 1-0 and the opponent is in an advantage.
“So they like it or not, they will probably spend time defending like in the second half.”