Orlando Pirates coach admits Jwaneng were more aggressive

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says his side was not in the right mindset following their shock 1-0 defeat to Botswana side Jwaneng Galaxy in the first leg of the CAF Champions League second preliminary.

The Buccaneers went down in the 21st minute at Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone on Sunday and never fully recovered.

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Daniel Msendami gave the Botswana champions a crucial win against Orlando Pirates thus ending Jose Riveiro’s undefeated run in cup games as Bucs coach.

Orlando Pirates surprised by Jwaneng Galaxy

“A cup game, a knockout game, typical. We didn’t start. I don’t know if the approach of the mindset [was] proper to what the game requires. Our level of aggressiveness in the duels was not good enough in the first half. Jwaneng were more aggressive than us,” Riveiro said.

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“Little by little they were pushing the game to their side [so that] they can have more hope to win it. One transition in one set-piece [that was] really badly defended [by Pirates players] allowed them to take the lead and from that, as usual we started a different game.”

Orlando Pirates will host Galaxy in the return leg in two weeks at the Orlando Stadium. Riveiro is confident that his troops would be ready for the second leg.

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“1-0 isn’t the result that we were looking for, but we knew that it’d be difficult to decide the game here for both sides. We still have to play one more game,” said the Pirates coach as per Sowetan.

Riveiro suffers first cup defeat as Pirates coach

The Buccaneers next turn their attention to Mamelodi Sundowns. The two giants of South African football will collide at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday evening.

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