Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has admitted that his men were simply not good enough on the night in their shock defeat to Cape Town Spurs on Wednesday.
The Soweto giants were the favourites to win the game, but they were outplayed by CT Spurs, winning 2-1 at the DHL Stadium in the DStv Premiership encounter.
The win was CT Spurs’ first of the season, as they had suffered eight defeats in a row prior to the Orlando Pirates game. Pirates coach Riveiro was honest and straightforward in his assessment of the performance, insisting that they had a poor start to the game, which led to the loss.
RIVEIRO SAYS PIRATES NEED TO IMPROVE AFTER CT SPURS SHOCK
“(Against CT Spurs) experienced something different than in the recent games against us, the ones who are chasing a one-goal lead,” said Jose Riveiro.
“We are not used to conceding that early. “It’s true that in the last game, we conceded a couple of transitions in the game against Polokwane City. But against (Spurs), the feeling in the first minute was different. What we do in the cup games is exactly the same. We don’t change the way we play or our intentions.
“Trust me, I was not going to be happy even if we had gotten a good result because it’s a problem to start the game the way we did. But we created more than enough to at least get a point in the worst-case scenario, in my opinion.”
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The Spanish coach went on to state that Pirates need to improve their decision-making and be more clinical in front of the goal. One might say that Riveiro’s are a sign that he is aware of the problems that need to be fixed if Pirates are to challenge for the league title this season.
The Soweto giants are now 15 points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns after eight games in the league. “Like I said so many times, football is a scoring game,” added the Bucs coach.
“You get nothing with the possession, with the attempts or entries to the box if you don’t put the ball in the net. “In recent times we have been struggling to do the last thing. That’s why we are not collecting points.”