Johannesburg - A disappointed Jose Riveiro held court at the FNB stadium after his team's loss in the Soweto derby on Saturday, claiming that “we missed ourselves”.
Riveiro’s Orlando Pirates were on a high going into the clash after winning back-to-back matches which included beating Mamelodi Sundowns away.
That 3-0 win over the Brazilians ensured that they marched to the MTN8 final where they’ll face AmaZulu, hence they were confident ahead of the derby.
But Pirates’ wings were clipped in the Calabash as they lost 1-0 to arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs courtesy of Yusuf Maart’s brilliant goal in the 74th minute.
Jose Riveiro is slightly peeved after @orlandopirates loss to @KaizerChiefs in the #sowetoderby @IOLsport pic.twitter.com/jjnLjq6BlL
— Morgan Bolton (@FreemanZAR) October 29, 2022
Chiefs were tactically astute on the day especially knowing that Pirates were without midfielder Miguel Timm. But did Pirates really miss Timm?
“We didn’t miss anyone today. We missed ourselves and the rhythm that we are used to playing at the beginning of the game,” Riveiro explained.
“We need to analyse why we didn’t and couldn’t in order to become better next time. It’s going to be important that we do in our next game.”
Indeed, Pirates will have to be at their best in their next game if they are going to win the MTN8 against Usuthu side at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
But how much impact will the Soweto derby loss have in Saturday's final given the fact that momentum could prove to be key in a knockout game?
“My players did everything in order to execute the plan and get the results. You can imagine how important it was to get three points,” Riveiro said.
“We need to analyse why it (our game-plan) didn’t work. And that’s my responsibility. That’s my job and we need to learn from this loss and fix it.”
“There’s not only one reason why you lose the game, there are always a lot of different reasons. And there are some things that we cannot control.”
IOL Sport