Orlando Pirates mentor Jose Riveiro is defending his inconsistent and blunt troops ahead of the Soweto Derby. Pirates will face their old nemesis, Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday in a Soweto Derby clash at FNB Stadium, and the mentor is now defending his players. The Spanish coach, Riveiro says playing young players means they will struggle to score goals and maintain consistency.
Orlando Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs
Heading to the derby, Pirates are fresh from a 1-all draw against Cape Town Spurs and will now turn their focus to the derby, versus Chiefs. The reigning Nedbank Cup title holder with the Sea Robbers, Pirates, believes his troops will improve as he reflects on the win over Polokwane City. Riveiro adds that his men didn’t do well against City when looking at the strike ratio which was low for his liking.
Why Pirates Mentor is Defending His Troops Ahead of Soweto Derby
The Soweto giants, Pirates saw their two-game winning run come to an end against Spurs while Chiefs claimed a win over Golden Arrows. At the same time, he says Riveiro believes his troops will grow and develop ahead of the Soweto Derby.
“It can happen if you have a look right now, we’re playing a lot of young players,” said Pirates mentor, Riveiro ahead of the Soweto Derby.
“Some of them making their first steps in the league playing for Pirates. I checked today (against Spurs), and the last time we played in Polokwane our average age was 25.5 which was low. It’s one of the lowest [in the league] and [against Spurs] we repeated the same starting 11, we have many players getting experience, learning, and understanding how to behave in different scenarios you face in the game to get consistency.”
RIVEIRO CALLS FOR MATURITY FROM HIS TROOPS
Pirates featured the likes of Relebohile Mofokeng against Spurs but the seasoned mentor now wants his troops to do well against Chiefs.
“But then there are certain moments, three or four games inside the game,” adds the Pirates coach, Riveiro.
“You need to beat your opponent in all those periods, and there’s a period we need to do much better, for me it’s after we take the lead, we need to close the game in those moments.”
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