Orlando Pirates coach says no one is invincible after Stellenbosch defeat

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro - Photo Courtesy Orlando Pirates Media.

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has said ‘no one is invincible’ in South Africa’s Betway Premiership after going down 0-1 to Stellenbosch on Sunday evening, the Buccaneers' first defeat of the season.

The Soweto giants, with the MTN8 in the bag and a promising start to the CAF Champions League group stages, seemed to be running away with the league having gone undefeated in seven games.

However, Devon Titus scored in the first half for Stellenbosch to silence a packed Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg. Reflecting on the match in a post-match interview, Riveiro attributed the defeat to his side’s failure to convert scoring chances.

“It was a game that we expected. I think we had a good beginning of the match in the first 15-20 minutes with opportunities through Patrick Maswanganyi and Deon Hotto arriving in the box in numbers and threatening as we planned,” he said.

“[But] we did not capitalize our chances. It was difficult playing to our advantage in the corridor. We could not be precise enough and in one of those situations in the central corridor, we lost the ball and they scored. We tried everything we could. I think we had some good chances to at least equalize.”

The Spaniard said he thought his side deserved at least a draw while admitting that the visitors were more decisive and clinical.

“I don’t think our performance today was for a single-point. Stellenbosch fought incredibly for every action and every meter. [There was] no drama. Nobody is invincible. We got our first defeat in the league. It is time to recover tonight. We have a big game on Saturday,” Riveiro said.

Meanwhile, Pirates have since climbed down the log table from first to second place, at par on 21 points with leaders, Mamelodi Sundowns who have a superior goal aggregate. The Buccaneers must regroup and recharge before heading to Egypt for a crunch meeting with Champions League defending champions Al Ahly in a group-stage game on Saturday.

The South Africans started the continental journey with a 2-1 win over CR Belouizdad in Algeria during the week.