Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro has acknowledged the mentally challenging race to catch Mamelodi Sundowns, emphasizing that they cannot afford to drop points.

Riveiro has previously described Sundowns as a team that rarely drops points, a key factor in their seven consecutive league titles.

Pirates prepared for their upcoming clash by narrowly defeating Sekhukhune United 2-1 in a Betway Premiership match at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday. They demonstrated resilience in the face of late pressure from the home side.

This victory keeps Pirates in pursuit of Sundowns, bringing their total to 33 points after 13 matches, six points behind the league leaders, who have 39 points from 14 games.

Sundowns, having reached 39 points, convincingly defeated SuperSport United 3-0 at Lucas Moripe Stadium, also on Wednesday.  

These two of South Africa’s most successful clubs, both boasting a star on their crest for winning the CAF Champions League, will meet in a sold-out match at Loftus Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The pressure will be on Pirates as they attempt to close the gap on Sundowns, who hold a points advantage and have played one more game.

“We are in a tough race, as everyone knows,” said Riveiro.

“If we want to be seriously contenders there are not many points, we can drop in the PSL.  

“So, we are trying our best to be competitive every two, three days. We came here knowing how difficult it is to play Sekhukhune at home. 

“We have had two bad experiences not only losing but not playing well [with costly defeats, 3-1 against SuperSport and 2-1 against Sekhukhune, at Peter Mokaba Stadium last season], though not on this field because we used to play in the new stadium. So, we knew it would be tough here against a good team.” 

The pressure on Pirates is twofold: to catch Sundowns in the league and to overcome their historical struggles against them away from home.

They haven’t defeated Sundowns in an away league match since January 2018, when goals from Ntsikelelo Nyauza, Mpho Makola, and Luvuyo Memela secured a win under Milutin Sredojevic.

However, Pirates can take some confidence from their recent success against Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final last season, which they won in June.