Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro believes Pyramids have issued his side a significant warning to improve in the second leg, particularly concerning their defending of set-pieces.

Pirates narrowly avoided a setback against Pyramids in the CAF Champions League semi-final first leg at FNB Stadium on Saturday, with two Pyramids goals correctly disallowed following VAR reviews.

The Soweto giants can also consider themselves fortunate as Pyramids applied considerable pressure, especially in the second half. Fiston Mayele, who had one of his goals disallowed for offside, missed a clear opportunity to score with a close-range header, much to the home side’s relief.

The second leg is scheduled for Friday at the 30 June Air Defence Stadium. The victor will face the winner of the other semi-final between Mamelodi Sundowns and Al Ahly, which ended in a goalless draw at Loftus Stadium earlier on Saturday.

“It’s a good warning for us to do it better especially in the second one, in the corner kick, in the set-piece to analyse what happened and try to do it better next time,” Riveiro stated. 

“But I think it’s not going to play a role in. The way football is going, we have to get used to play with the type of technology as well and I think in this case the referees and his assistants did a good job.”  

In contrast to the PSL, which lacks VAR technology and has led to consistent complaints from Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso, Riveiro affirmed that the referee made the correct decisions in disallowing the goals.

However, Krunoslav Jurčić, the Pyramids coach, was visibly incensed by those decisions, even appealing to the referee to award the goals.

“No, they were not goals. If the referee disallowed them, then we cannot discuss them. They were disallowed,” Riveiro commented on Jurčić’s reaction.

“So, obviously, it is a new experience for us as we are not accustomed to playing with VAR, and I understand the opponent’s frustration.

“I am confident that once they have had the chance to review the incidents carefully, they will realise that the referee was correct, his decisions were right, and ultimately, the decisions were good for Orlando Pirates.”