Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has refused to hit the panic button despite his side’s loss of form.
The Soweto giants lost their third successive match in all competitions against Stellenbosch FC in the return leg of the MTN8 semi-final on Sunday.
Iqraam Rayners was on target as Stellies edged Pirates 1-0 at Orlando Stadium. However, Bucs went through to the finals of the MTN8 via the away goal rule, having won the first leg 2-1 away from home.
They will now face Mamelodi Sundowns, who beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-2 over two-legs in the final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on 07 October 2023 with the aim of defending the title they won last year after beating AmaZulu FC.
Prior to the Stellenbosch FC encounter on Sunday, Riveiro’s troops had suffered a shock 1-0 defeat away in Botswana to Jwaneng Galaxy in the first leg of their CAF Champions League second preliminary round ties.
And before that game, they were defeated by Sundowns 1-0 at home in the DStv Premiership last Wednesday (20 September 2023).
Despite their loss to Galaxy in the first leg, Pirates can still qualify for the group stages of the Champions League if they win the second leg in Soweto this coming Friday.
Jose Riveiro said that he does not consider the result against Stellies as a loss, as his made managed to book a place in the final. Instead, he prefers to judge the tie over the final score of 2-2 on aggregate.
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‘I DON’T TAKE IT AS A DEFEAT’: RIVEIRO
“It’s three defeats in a row. It’s not frequent, but if on Friday we get a result that we need (against Galaxy), we will go through,” said Riveiro.
“We lost against Stellenbosch, but we are in the final (MTN8), and that’s what counts in the end. “I don’t take it as a defeat even though, in the record, it’s going to be noted as a defeat. We’ll have the chance to go to the group stages (of the Champions League) when we play a good game on Friday. It’s in our hands. We are going to do it here at home,” he said.
“Hopefully, we will have 30,000 or 40,000 spectators. We are going to the final. We have the same chances as our opponents (Sundowns) on October 7 and still have 25 games to play in the league.
“Like I said many times, I’m a very, very optimistic person. I think everything is going to be alright always.”