Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro was pleased to get three points in Cape Town for the first time against Cape Town City.
Pirates won 2-0 at the DHL Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, after a second half brace from Tshegofatso Mabasa.
Riveiro said it was a good game of football, despite the pitch’s condition, and after making a few adjustments in the second half, he was pleased with how his team performed.
“I think a good football match very tactically in the first half with, two clear strategies to get the three points – different but clear,” Riveiro said in the post-match press conference.
“And it takes time for us to unlock, let’s say the approach of the opponent, it is a good team, well organised, is difficult, adding the difficulties of the shape of the field, I think was was terrible today for both teams.
“So I think the game could have been much better in terms of quality, but we try our best, it was difficult. In situations where you receive with too little time and space on the field is like that, it’s always a risk to suffer one transition. But we try our best I think the first half, even though maybe we have, I remember one action that Tshego turned and he didn’t see Hotto free in the box, and he shot it was close to be the 1-0.
“And anyway, in the second half, we try to adjust a little bit the position of Kabelo, the role of Thalente also in the in the centre. And I think that we managed to progress with more danger for the opponent.
“And little by little starting to have more time, more possession in Cape Town City half, which we couldn’t in the first half, we have attacks but not so much time in their half.
“And due to that I think we managed to get the lead, we manage very well the lead, maybe not in the extra time, we made a couple of unnecessary mistakes that allowed them to threat us with set pieces.
“But overall, I think if I consider the level of the opponent, the fact that we we were not in our best in the recent times here in Cape Town, and the shape of the ground, I think it was really good performance of our players. And very, very important three points, obviously.”