Orlando Pirates’ coach Jose Riveiro has urged his troops to quickly get over their loss in the Carling Knockout Cup, insisting there’s a bigger fish to fry.
The Sea Robbers bowed out of the Carling Knockout Cup on Saturday afternoon after incredibly losing 3-2 to Magesi FC at home, Orlando Stadium.
The Bucs were the favourites for the game on paper, being superior to the newbies and having been regarded as the new ‘cup specialists’ in local football. Pirates have won five trophies under Riveiro, including an unprecedented ‘three-peat’ in the MTN8 – a feat that was achieved in Durban two weeks ago.
Having their only blemish under the Spaniard in the ‘Beer Cup’ last season, they were expected to make up for lost ground this season.
The draw with Magesi for the opening round seemed to all but back up those hopes, but it wasn’t to be. Magesi went into the break with a surprising 3-0 lead – thanks to goals from Delano Abrahams, Edmore Chirambadare and an own goal from Thabiso Seasane.
Kabelo Dlamini scored four minutes before regulation, while Evidence Makgopa made for a nail-biting finish, scoring Pirates’ second goal just before the 90th minute. Riveiro cut a dejected figure in his post-match press conference but urged his troops to quickly turn their focus to their Betway Premiership clash at home against SuperSport United.
“The loss is obviously a difficult scenario for all of us – to go to break 3-0 down and understanding that you have to play another 45 minutes is a difficult situation,” he said.
“We did it in a professional way (in the end). But obviously, the feeling of being eliminated here at home is not nice. That goes without saying.
“All of those things together are the reason why we don’t celebrate. We are on the other side of the table today.
“We must accept it quickly because we are playing (tomorrow). SuperSport is coming (to Orlando Stadium), and we have to get those three points by any means necessary.”
FT☠️ || @OrlandoPirates 2 v 3 @MagesiFC
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) October 19, 2024
🎙️Evidence Makgopa
🏆 #CarlingKnockout
🆚 @Magesi_FC
🗓️ 19 October 2024
🏟️ Orlando Stadium
⚫️⚪️🔴⭐️#OrlandoPirates #OnceAlways pic.twitter.com/SRt6ObcNkB
Pirates have secured all their points – nine – so far this season, beating Chippa United, Polokwane City and Richards Bay, respectively. That bright start augurs well for the Sea Robbers, as they are widely expected to knock Mamelodi Sundowns off their perch for the coveted league title.
Having been bridesmaids to the Brazilians for the last two seasons due to inconsistency, Riveiro knows that the biggest honour they need to challenge for in the land is the league.
“I am not going to lie, I am going to be honest,” Riveiro said.
“If we ranked the competitions, the league is the most important one. But then, when we go to these cups, we always go with the intention to offer good performances, but today was not that bad, but in four moments we were not at that level.”
Pirates' quest to return to the pinnacle of local football hasn’t come without challenges. They have at least nine regulars in the medical room, including vice-captain Olisa Ndah, whose maturity and leadership were dearly missed against Dikwena, as the inexperience of his defensive partner Seasane was exposed.
There’s also the issue of a heavy schedule, which includes continental and international matches. However, Riveiro is not sulking, saying they’ll have to make do with what they have.
“Being in a club like ours and having the responsibility to compete and win in every competition that we play in is a difficult task,” Riveiro said.
“We are getting there. I don’t think today was a very difficult game to analyse. Whatever I say today is going to sound like an excuse, but the schedule is complicated. But we have good players.
“That’s why we were in all the competitions before this defeat. We have a lot of players in national teams, but that’s a consequence.
“We were happy with that. But now, we need to find a way to compete in all the competitions because we don’t face any selective challenges.”