Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has pleaded with supporters for patience after his side lost their third successive match in their 1-2 defeat to Cape Town City in the DStv Premiership on Saturday at Cape Town Stadium.
Pressure is starting to mount on Riveiro and there are some concerns among the Buccaneers faithful as their team has suffered six defeats in 15 matches.
They are also 18 points behind log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns but the Spanish coach believes they can still win the league title.
“We still have 15 games left. That’s a lot of points to play and the second part of the season is tough not only for Pirates but for everyone,” Riveiro told the media after the match.
“There is no reason not to believe we cannot win 15 games. I’m optimistic, I’m not stupid. I know the difficulties to challenge. We are going into every game with the intention to win and let’s see at the end of the season where we end.
“We are not where we wanted to be in terms of points but we have a clear vision of where we want to be in the future, but sometimes it takes a long time. But we have no doubt that we will get there sooner rather than later.”
On Saturday the Buccaneers had opened the scoring through Deon Hotto, only for the Citizens to score twice in the second half.
Riveiro asks fans to be patient
Bucs coach not giving up on league title
Image: Veli Nhlapo
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has pleaded with supporters for patience after his side lost their third successive match in their 1-2 defeat to Cape Town City in the DStv Premiership on Saturday at Cape Town Stadium.
Pressure is starting to mount on Riveiro and there are some concerns among the Buccaneers faithful as their team has suffered six defeats in 15 matches.
They are also 18 points behind log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns but the Spanish coach believes they can still win the league title.
“We still have 15 games left. That’s a lot of points to play and the second part of the season is tough not only for Pirates but for everyone,” Riveiro told the media after the match.
“There is no reason not to believe we cannot win 15 games. I’m optimistic, I’m not stupid. I know the difficulties to challenge. We are going into every game with the intention to win and let’s see at the end of the season where we end.
“We are not where we wanted to be in terms of points but we have a clear vision of where we want to be in the future, but sometimes it takes a long time. But we have no doubt that we will get there sooner rather than later.”
On Saturday the Buccaneers had opened the scoring through Deon Hotto, only for the Citizens to score twice in the second half.
Pirates’ hopes of catching Sundowns dented with defeat to CT City
One of the problems Pirates face this season is their failure to score in the second half. In 15 league matches they have not scored a goal in the second half, but Riveiro defended that.
“If we go deeper and analyse game after game where we didn’t score in the second half, there are many games where we didn’t need to score as well,” he said.
“We were leading and one of the consequences was to defend a bit lower. The opponents are one goal behind and they need to take a risk, but we scored in the MTN games in the second half against Royal AM and Mamelodi Sundowns.
“But we will get there. We are creating chances but we are not converting them.”
Results; Richards Bay 0-2 Sundowns; Swallows 2-0 Chippa; Arrows 2-1 SuperSport; Gallants 0-1 Maritzburg; Chiefs 0-1 Sekhukhune.
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