Orlando Pirates annihilated Royal AM 4-0 in the DStv Premiership on Sunday afternoon at Harry Gwala Stadium but coach Jose Riveiro is unhappy.
The Spaniard cemented their spot as number three on the log table and said his men were lacking in some departments, but he conceded that his players were not at their best level against the KwaZulu-Natal side.
From the win, the Buccaneers remain in third position with 43 points with five matches left to play while John Maduka’s men are 13th with 29 points from the same number of matches.
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Pirates vs Royal AM: Bucs Run Riot in KZN
Patrick Maswanganyi, Wandile Mbatha, Relebohile Mofokeng, and Kabelo Dlamini netted for the visiting Pirates in KwaZulu-Natal.
Maswanganyi netted his fifth goal of the season, a contentious penalty while Mbatha got his first in black and white in a match the visitors dominated at a packed Harry Gwala Stadium.
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Mbatha passed to Tito who was brought down in what appeared to be outside the box but the referee awarded a spot kick that Maswanganyi slotted home to break the deadlock in the 29th minute. Mbatha had an opportunity to score earlier from range but was off target. For the hosts, Royal AM had a fair share of chances as Khethukuthula Ndlovu had an attempt but it went wide while the other was an easy save for Melusi Buthelezi who replaced suspended Sipho Chaine in goals.
Pirates could have extended their lead in the 35th minute when Maswanganyi set up Monnapule Saleng who had only the net to beat but landed the ball on the roof of the net. Minutes from the break Royal AM won a set-piece Sedwyn George stepped up but Buthelezi made a brilliant save to deny him an equaliser leaving Pirates with a narrow lead into halftime.
No changes were made from both sides at the start of the second half. Pirates got their second goal 10 minutes into the half. Maswanganyi and Mbatha exchanged roles for this one as the former provided the assist and the latter the goal to make it 2-0. With the match looking secured at 2-0 Tshegofatso Mabasa set up Mofokeng for the side’s third in the 73rd minute.
A misplaced cross by Dlamini also ended in the back of the net to make the Happy People in the stands very happy.
Pirates Coach Unhappy with Performance:
Despite keeping a clean sheet and netting four goals, Pirates coach Riveiro is not entirely happy, saying their performance was below par. “Congratulations to everyone, it is nice to get a good result again in front of a fantastic crowd,” Riveiro told SuperSport TV.
“But I’m not happy with our performance, especially in the first 45 minutes, we lost control of the game many times. It was not a football game that we have been playing recently, but I think in the second half we found ourselves a little bit more in the last 30-35 minutes and we won the game.”
Pirates: What’s Next for the Soweto Giants
In their next fixture, Pirates will look to maintain their winning run as they travel to the Mother City to meet Cape Town City on Wednesday night.
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