Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has explained his decision to substitute goalkeeper Sipho Chaine for Richard Ofori in the CAF Champions League encounter.
The Buccaneers crashed out of the Champions League preliminary rounds after losing 5-4 on penalties against Botswana side Jwaneng Galaxy on Friday night.
Pirates lost the first leg 1-0 to Galaxy in Botswana before winning the return leg 1-0 as the tie finished 1-1 on aggregate.
Jwaneng Galaxy is coached by South African-born tactician Morena Ramoreboli who is no stranger to inflicting pain on Pirates.
Ramoreboli made a name for himself when he beat the Soweto giants 4-1 in the Nedbank Cup with Maluti FET College back in 2013.
Meanwhile, Ofori has been out of the Pirates’ starting line-up, with Sipho Chaine preferred as the first-choice goalie between the sticks.
The Ghanaian international who has been troubled by injuries has only played two matches for Pirates in the 2023/24 campaign. Both matches were in the CAF Champions League.
Ofori was brought in in the dying minutes of the Pirates’ clash against Galaxy to replace Chaine for the penalty shootout.
JOSE RIVEIRO ON REPLACING CHAINE WITH OFORI
Riveiro has since backed up his decision to give Ofori a run in the final stages of the match.
“Richard Ofori came in because he’s a specialist on penalties. Unfortunately, he couldn’t save any of the five [penalties]. And that’s why Jwaneng is in the group stages,” Riveiro said.
“But the reason why Richard came in at the final minutes is obvious. It doesn’t mean we don’t trust Sipho Chaine. We thought in the current circumstances, Richard could give us extra in that specific moment of the game.
“He did his best. He was close to saving the second penalty. The situation could be different. You have to play your cards as a coach at different moments of the game.
“I’m proud of the guys during the whole game and during the penalty shootout,” he added.
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