‘There’s still a lot of things to do’: Riveiro after Stade d’Abidjan victory
Despite climbing up the CAF Champions League Group C table following Orlando Pirates’ 3-0 victory over Stade d’Abidjan, coach Jose Riveiro maintains that much work remains to progress to the tournament’s next phase.
The Buccaneers thrashed the Ivorian side to earn maximum points at Orlando Stadium on Saturday evening, thanks to goals by Relebohile Mofokeng, Patrick Maswanganyi and Deon Hotto.
Pirates currently top Group C with eight points after four matches. They are one point ahead of Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly, who suffered a 1-0 defeat to Khanyisa Mayo’s CR Belouizdad on Friday.
Riveiro was speaking in a post-match interview at Orlando Stadium after their comfortable win against Stade d’Abidjan.
WHY JOSE RIVEIRO NOT TOO EXCITED AFTER VICTORY OVER STADE D’ABIDJAN
The Spanish mentor was not overly enthusiastic after their victory over Stade d’Abidjan, noting that there are still two challenging matches ahead, and they are far from advancing to the next stage.
The Soweto giants still got to play with CR Belouizdad on the 12th of January at home and their last group stage encounter away from home against Al Ahly on the 18th of January.
He further expressed that his team has demonstrated their ability to compete with any team and aimed to achieve something remarkable for their fans.
“There are two more games to play. It is in our hands to find ourselves in the quarter-finals. But there are still a lot of things to do. It is not done, not even close to advancing to the next round because we still have to play two more tough games,” said Riveiro.
“But today we have proved that we can compete in a good way with everybody one more time. It is not the first time we have done it, and the guys showed it.
“However, it was an incredible performance from the guys from the first minute till the last whistle. I think the attitude was that of a team that wanted to do something special, keep growing, and achieve things together.”
Riveiro added: “The opponent couldn’t create so much opportunities because the team defended well. But it’s because of the straight relation between what we did when we were not in position and the lack of opportunities of the opposition during the 90 minutes.”
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