Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro - Photo Courtesy Pirates Media.
Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has revealed the importance of their 8-1 victory against Marumo Gallants in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) fixture on Tuesday.
In their final fixture of 2024, goals rained in the second half at Orlando Stadium with the hosts bagging a crucial three points in the Betway Premiership. Kenneth Nthatheni inadvertently put Pirates ahead with an own goal, deflecting Deon Hotto's cross into his net.
Gallants responded through Gabadinho Mhango, who netted against his former team to level the score 1-1 before halftime. However, the Pirates dominated the second half.
Tshegofatso Mabasa dazzled with a hat-trick, while Deano van Rooyen celebrated his first goal for the club. Thalente Mbatha added a brace to complete the onslaught.
“In terms of self-confidence for the team, for the players, the individuals, it’s always important to see what they are capable of doing, the first half, you could feel the anxiety in the stands at 1-1, and some mistakes here and there,” said Riveiro as quoted by iDiski Times.
“I think in the second half they showed a lot of personality to keep going, to keep pushing, to keep looking for solutions and they got a big reward in the end with this amount of goals. We all expect a very tight race for the [title] at the top of the season.”
He added: “This is just game number nine but you can see that it’s not going to be an easy race and every game counts, every goal [scored] every goal you concede, every goal difference. So we have to try and take advantage wherever the advantage is presented to us.
“Today we have an opportunity and I’m happy the guys didn’t speculate and continued to play vertical and continue attacking the spaces that were open and ready for us. And overall I think it’s a very good performance.”
The emphatic victory bolstered Pirates' goal difference, placing them within striking distance of league leaders Sundowns, who earlier secured a narrow 1-0 win over AmaZulu.
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