Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has made a promise to the club’s supporters after missing out on the opportunity to move to the top of the DStv Premiership log as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Maritzburg United.
The results means Pirates failed to reclaim the top spot and remain third on the log standings with 11 points following their second league loss at a packed Harry Gwala Stadium, thanks to a late Amadou Soukouna penalty in the second half.
After netting two goals against Royal AM in the MTN8 quarterfinals a week ago, Pirates were expected to build on that win, but Riveiro’s men shot blanks in front of goal.
However, the Spanish coach is quite open about the shortfalls in his team’s game and insisted that the technical team is working on the club’s scoring problem, while stating that they don’t want to be early leaders in the league.
“We are solving goal-scoring challenges; every week, we are working on it,” said Riveiro as his troops have only managed to score four goals in seven league games.
“The league is still in the early stages, and every game is difficult for everyone, not only for Orlando Pirates. Our objective is not to be at the top of the log early but to collect points as much as possible in the first round of the season. So, we can compete well in the second round of the season.
The Buccaneers have been getting tremendous support this season, especially in KwaZulu-Natal. The coach appreciated the turnout and expressed his disappointment about failing to give the Pirates faithful a victory.
He went on to ask for patience from Pirates supporters and made promises of great things to come, as Pirates have not clinched the league title in over a decade.
“We are all upset; when we lose and when we win, we celebrate together. As I said before, my focus is to stabilise the team after a win, and if we lose, I come up with a plan to work on what to do in the next clash,” he added.
“The message to the supporters, please be patient; great things are coming to the club. It is unbelievable to have this support. We are privileged to be part of this club; we always have a huge crowd, and all our games are like home fixtures. We are just upset that we couldn’t give them victory, we are thankful for their love, and we promise to do better.”
