Pirates to keep spark in cup

Orlando Pirates tactician Jose Riveiro is of the view that his side’s progress in the Nedbank Cup will keep the tournament interesting.

To reach the Ke Yona Cup’s last four, Pirates were made to sweat by third-tier side Dondol Stars. They needed penalties to eventually outwit them at Peter Mokaba Stadium at the weekend. Pirates took the lead via Thembinkosi Lorch in the 55th minute but that was short-lived as Tebogo Makungo restored parity two minutes later, taking the game to extra time. The Soweto giants won 5-4 on penalties.

“The fact that Pirates are in the semifinals will keep the competition interesting. I hope it is going to be good for all of us to have two good semifinals with good teams... with a lot of fans in the stadiums. Let’s see who’s the best one to go until the end,” Riveiro told the media after the game.

The Pirates coach suggested their game plan didn’t really work, albeit he wasn’t awed by how the game panned out. Riveiro insisted that playing against minnows was always a mountain to climb for top division teams.

“Not what we planned but at the same time not a surprise, it’s a cup game. This game is very special, that’s why we love the cups [that pit premiership sides against amateurs] everywhere around the world, and SA is not an exception. We faced a good team and I think there are a couple of PSL teams that can tell you about it [that Dondol are not pushovers],” Riveiro said.

“It’s a fact that for top division teams it’s difficult to play against teams from lower leagues...there’s multiple reasons for this, psychological, technical, tactical as well because it’s a different way to play football, it’s a headache to be honest.”

Riveiro maintained that he never panicked when Dondol, the leaders of Gauteng ABC Motsepe League stream, equalised. “I was quite calm today on the bench. I was quite sure that we were going to make it before the penalties but it’s a football game, anything can happen.”