After watching his charges outwit Royal AM on Tuesday evening, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has pinpointed what he believes is the most difficult but overlooked thing in football.
Pirates beat Royal AM 4-2 in a DStv Premiership clash to register their first win of the new season at Orlando Stadium in Soweto.
Jose Riveiro’s troops ran riot in the first half, with Zakhele Lepasa scoring a brace and Monnapule Saleng also getting on the score sheet to put Pirates 3-0 up just after 35 minutes.
However, Pirates lowered their guard, and Siphiwe Cele, one of the four players introduced in the first half by a furious John Maduka, pulled one back for Royal AM towards the end of the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, Pirates were forced to dip deep, with the KZN side Royal AM also showing their attacking prowess. The visitors scored in the 88th minute through former Pirates striker Mxolisi Macuphu to make it 3-2.
But Royal AM’s fightback was put to bed when Bandile Shandu netted the fourth goal for the Buccaneers deep into stoppage time.
The impressive victory also saw Pirates bounce back after kicking off their 2023/24 season with a 1-0 defeat away to Stellenbosch FC at the weekend.
Riveiro, who was pleased with the performance of his men, believes the hardest part of the game, which is also the most important aspect, is to score goals.
‘The most difficult thing in football is to score a goal’
“The most difficult thing in this game is to put the ball in the back of the net,” said the Spanish tactician.
“That’s why the clubs pay a lot of money for the ones who have the capacity [to score goals]. They are the players who have better salaries around the world, I guess. It is difficult. And this is a very complicated game.
“Sometimes, without shooting [at goal], you can win the game, even when you don’t go in the half of the opponents, you can win the game.
“It [scoring goals] looks easy from the stands, but it is not. Anyway, we don’t coach players looking for mistakes. We try to coach them and reward them for their intentions on the field.
“And the intentions [against Royal AM] were super good. The execution can be difficult because of the pressure, the opponents are close, and the ball bounces in the wrong direction as there is a hole on the pitch.
“That’s why it is so difficult to put the ball in the back of the net, but overall I’m happy. They would have loved to score eight goals. But it is not easy. We scored four, so it is not that bad.”
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