Riveiro hopes Bucs fired up in race for second after beating SuperSport

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro hopes their 1-0 DStv Premiership win over SuperSport United on Saturday night provides a muchneeded spark for them in the tightly contested race for second spot.

Mamelodi Sundowns need two points from seven matches to officially clinch their sixth successive title but Pirates, SuperSport and Kaizer Chiefs are involved in a battle for second place that comes with Caf Champions League football next season.

Second-placed SuperSport have a slight advantage with 39 points from 23 matches.

But SuperSport’s defeat on Saturday night leaves Pirates and Chiefs, who beat Maritzburg United 3-2 in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday night, breathing down their necks both on 37 points from the same number of games.

Riveiro said his side’s vital win at the Orlando Stadium, secured through a second-half penalty by

Tapelo Xoki, is good for his team’s confidence and momentum as they aim to make a charge to secure the runners-up position.

“The confidence and the trusting [in the process] in general is going to be good but we still have 21 points to play for and I can guarantee you that SuperSport United are going to fight until the end,” the Spaniard said.

“Those teams that are coming from behind us will also have opportunities and I anticipate that the last three games of the season are going to be very entertaining.”

Domestic football goes into a two-week break for the coming Fifa international date.

Riveiro said Bucs would use the time to refresh the players ahead of Pirates’ return to play in their league match against Richards Bay at the King Zwelithini Stadium on April 1.

“It is an opportunity to refresh legs and minds, we are not going to have much rest because we have a lot of things to do.

“The Richards Bay game is coming very soon and it is going got be difficult.

“We have to [train during the break] without our international players, who are with their national teams we are proud to send those players to the national teams.

“We will try to keep the players fit and have our internal competition at the end of the week where we are not playing for points but to keep players hungry.”

Riveiro said it was crucial for Pirates to close the gap on SuperSport on Saturday.

“We had an opportunity to do the job of seeing SuperSport dropping points and we did it.

“It somehow looks like more than a league game I don’t want to say a final because they still have the advantage ahead of us.

“They are not going to give anything for free, it is going to be a difficult fight until the end.

“We have to capitalise on these three points because it is more than three points.