Jose Riveiro - Photo Courtesy Pirates Media.
Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has heaped praise on his players after they qualified for the knockout stages of the CAF Champions League following Saturday’s 2-1 win against CR Belouizdad at Orlando Stadium.
Relebohile Mofokeng opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Thalente Mbatha secured the result with his goal after 61 minutes, despite a late consolation from Abdelroauf Benguit.
“It's a day to be happy, a day to celebrate together as a group because these victories, these performances are not happening by chance. They are not coming for free, they are happening because the guys are working so hard everyday,” Riveiro told Pan-Africa Football.
“To perform the way they did it again, don’t put the focus on the results, results are fine because everybody wants to win but it is the way they are playing football. Every three days it is not easy and it is something to celebrate, to be happy of because the result is coming because of their good performance."
“We are happy, we are proud of what we are doing together as a team. We are not stopping here, this is just half of the season and we are now going to the quarter-finals for sure but we must stay focused to continue entertaining and winning matches.”
The win enabled the Buccaneers to move to 11 points; ahead of African champions Al Ahly by one point, with one game remaining. Pirates will conclude their matches against Al Ahly on Saturday, January 18.
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