Bucs have chance for more silverware
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is pleased his team seems to be on course for a strong finish to the season that may include more silverware, so for now he is willing to overlook their glaring and recurring missed chances.
Pirates are in third place in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) table. Among the teams chasing second place and a spot in next season’s Caf Champions League, based on current form Bucs look the best bet to clinch it.
Pirates (46 points from 26 games) have won seven consecutive games in all competitions and five on the trot in the league. They are a point behind second-placed SuperSport United, who have played 27 games. This season’s MTN8 winners are also in the Nedbank Cup semifinals, where they face Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on May 6.
Yet, Pirates continue to miss chances, as they did in their 2-1 PSL win against City at Orlando Stadium on Saturday, when seven shots of 19 were on target. Riveiro was asked if he is frustrated by such a statistic.
“Frustration is not the word,” said the Spaniard. “I’m not coming to the games thinking we’re going to win 5-0 and if we’re not at 5-0 at halftime I get frustrated. I know how difficult it is.
“We played a good game against SuperSport but we only scored one penalty. We played against Maritzburg United and suddenly [Monnapule] Saleng shoots from nowhere and the ball is in the net.
“You have to control a lot of things to get a result. But I know how much it takes. We have to work a lot to create one chance and to make sure that chance is not going to result in a transition immediately after we have it.
“That’s one of the keys for us, probably the main change in the second part of the season. We have the capacity to play more in the half of the opponent and [if] you do that your probabilities to score increase.”