Riveiro Reveals Why Pirates Can Put Up A Fight Against Sundowns

Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro says his team is maturing this season in terms of how they behave in the dressing room and at training. 

Pirates moved to the summit of the Betway Premiership table with 15 points after beating AmaZulu 2-1 at Orlando Stadium on Friday, reclaiming the top spot from Mamelodi Sundowns. 

However, Sundowns coach Manqoba Mngqithi recently said that the Pirates tend not to do well against small teams, and that will make the Brazilians win the league, but Riveiro is against that as he said his team is getting mature now. 

“I think the team is getting mature, we show and the players show, this season they are enjoying playing and that makes everything much easier,” Riveiro said. 

 “So far they are focused on every game, you never hear them talking about the CAF Champions League the next month, or the big games we’re going to play. It’s always about the next opponent when you hear the players in the locker room and [training]. 

“They are always talking about what’s coming or what we did the day before. It makes you feel that they are getting more mature as a group and they know what it takes to achieve what we want to achieve in the end, which is always the next… that makes me feel confident and very optimistic about this group.” 

The Buccaneers are set to visit TS Galaxy in their next league game of the season. This game is scheduled at Mbombela Stadium on Tuesday, the same venue where the Buccaneers won the Nedbank Cup last season against Sundowns.

Article by Gabriel Hlakanyana