'Away goal is not an advantage for Bucs'

Ahead of their MTN8 second leg semifinal encounter against Mamelodi Sundowns tomorrow at the Peter Mokaba Stadium (3.30pm), Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro is paying no mind to the away goals rule.

Some of the top competitions in football are doing away with the away goal rule but it still applies in the top eight and it could work in favour of the Sea Robbers after they drew 0-0 in the first leg against Masandawana.

A scoring draw would see Pirates through to the November 5 final, but Riveiro couldn't be too bothered.

“It’ll be like any other game. The away goal can be an important factor at the end of the game, but we need to score the goal and we didn’t [in the first leg],” said Riveiro.

“There’s no advantage for anyone so far. Once we have scored it’ll be an advantage for us, obviously. The value of the goal will be relevant at the end of the game. At this moment it’s 0-0. It ensures that both teams will start the game looking for that advantage. So, it doesn’t change the approach in preparation and the players that we are going to select,” he said.

When speaking to the media during an online presser, Riveiro was coy on the prospects of reaching the final and winning his first cup with Pirates. Instead, he praised Downs for their experience of playing high calibre matches.

“We are not thinking about the title or final. We have to deal with a very tough opponent on Saturday, a team that is used to playing these types of games regularly,” Riveiro said.

“They have got experienced players with quality, so we know the size of the challenge that we are going to face on Saturday.

“We are just focusing on the things that we can control which is to complete a good preparation and keep the level of confidence that we have at this moment. We have experience of facing Sundowns, but it’s going to be a different story."