Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro got his first league win over Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Buccaneers emerged 2-1 winners after 90 minutes at the FNB Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Relebohile Mofokeng’s brace was enough to give the home side all three points and close the gap to Masandawana to 15 points.
Coming into the match, Pirates were 18 points behind Sundowns in the league standings. A loss or draw would have ended their title aspirations despite having four games in hand.
Riveiro explains how early goals helped Orlando Pirates
“Beautiful beginning of the game, getting the advantage early as we wanted, trying to control the game as good as we could,” Riveiro told SABC Sport.
“They are a very good team, it is difficult to control everything when you have to defend against them. I think we did a good job. It is true that they came close in the second half, no clear chances but every action seemed to be the same again and again so I think it was a good game from our side and a good game from them.”
Orlando Pirates only had 30 percent of the ball but Riveiro said his side was decisive in key moments.
“When we left Loftus, I think they had 30 or 29 percent possession and we lost. I think today is the other way, I think they had 70 percent and they are the ones losing. This is football, it is about scoring goals and today, we scored one more goal than them, so three points,” he said.
Orlando Pirates have beaten Sundowns three times in two seasons but this was Riveiro’s first league win over the Tshwane giants. The Brazilians won the first fixture 4-1 at Loftus Versfelf last month.
Can Pirates catch Mamelodi Sundowns and win the title?
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