After his team’s loss in the Soweto derby on Saturday, Jose Riveiro addressed the media at the FNB stadium, alleging that “we missed ourselves.”
Prior to the match, Riveiro’s Orlando Pirates had won back-to-back matches, including a road victory over Mamelodi Sundowns.
This 3-0 victory over the Brazilians propelled them to the MTN8 final, where they would face AmaZulu, therefore they entered the derby with confidence.
Yusuf Maart’s spectacular strike in the 74th minute gave Kaizer Chiefs a 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in the Calabash. Pirates lost 1-0.
Chiefs were strategically clever on the day in light of the fact that the Pirates were missing midfielder Miguel Timm. But did the Pirates miss Timm?
“No one was missed today. “At the beginning of the game, we were missing ourselves and our usual rhythm,” Riveiro explained.
“We must determine why we did not and could not succeed in order to improve for the future. It will be crucial that we do so in our next game.”
Indeed, Pirates will need to be at their best in order to defeat Usuthu at Moses Mabhida Stadium in their next MTN8 match.
How significant would the setback in the Soweto derby be in Saturday’s final, considering the importance of momentum in knockout games?
“My players performed all necessary to execute the strategy and get the desired results. “You can imagine how crucial it was to earn three points,” added Riveiro.
“We must determine why it (our game plan) failed. And I am responsible for this. This is my responsibility, and we must learn from this loss and make amends.”
“There is never just one reason why you lose a game; there are always a variety of causes. And there are other things over which we have no influence.”