Jose Riveiro cut a confident figure ahead of Orlando Pirates’ CAF Champions League clash against Jwaneng Galaxy, outlining the main change that will see his men avoid a fourth successive defeat.
The Pirates coach is not reading much into how his men fared in the last three matches in all competitions, where they lost three times on an identical 1-0 scoreline.
They trail 1-0 to Botswana outfit Jwaneng Galaxy. But the Spaniard is rather calm ahead of the decisive second leg of the Champions League preliminary round. The much-anticipated encounter will be staged at Orlando Stadium with kickoff set for 19:30, and Riveiro said Pirates owe it to their fans to put in a great show.
He also described the Jwaneng encounter as the Pirates’ most important game so far this season, insisting that he expects nothing but a victory with a 2-goal cushion to advance to the Champions League group stages.
“We need to win the game with a 2-0 advance. That’s the target at the end of the 90 minutes. We need to dominate the game in every scenario and we need to feel that we are applying that domination and our game plan,” said Jose Riveiro at Rand Stadium on Thursday.
“We have to show that we are a better team and that we are capable to do it [win]. There’s no time to waste. What we want is to dominate the game. And that will get us closer to getting the result we are looking for.”
Riveiro Confident Pirates Can Overturn Deficit and Reach CAFCL Group Stage
To regain their form, Riveiro believes Pirates must quickly move on from their recent disappointing results, having lost to Jwaneng Galaxy, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Stellenbosch FC without scoring a goal.
And despite the Stellies’ defeat, the Soweto giants still booked a spot in the MTN8 decider against Sundowns next month at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, in Durban.
“We are coming from three difficult results to accept. Fortunately, the last one, the result was enough to see us reach the final,” he added. “And we should not forget that Orlando Pirates is going to play in a final even though we lost the last game.
“Sometimes those results are convenient during the process to understand that when you are not at your best and you don’t have the proper mindset, you can easily lose a game. That’s not where we want to be.
“Tomorrow, more than the result, it is about having the opportunity to forget the last game as soon as possible with a good result and convincing performance in front of our fans. Last time we played with a full crowd and we didn’t offer the show they deserved. And tomorrow we really want to do it.
“The players are really committed. That will be the main change; our mindset, our mentality to play the game tomorrow, the players know how important the game is, for the club, our fans.”
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