Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says Kabelo Dlamini played his role in a deeper midfield position after questions around his suitability for the role.
Dlamini started alongside Makhehleni Makhaula in the absence of Thalente Mbatha in the 4-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.
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While he was his usual, fluent and dynamic self, he lost possession 20 times over the game as Sundowns profited on several swift counter attacking plays.
“I don’t think so [it was a mistake], Kabelo was helping us a lot on the ball, always giving us extra time on the ball to get organised, in the second half, he was the one giving us balance in midfield,” Riveiro said.
“Even in our rest defence, winning duels, helping the centre-backs, sometimes our eyes [tell us] Makhaula is more defensive and Kabelo is more offensive, but in this team, everyone is defending when we don’t have the ball and we all try to attack, even Makhaula.
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“Recently you can see the evolution of him as an offesnsive player when we’re on the ball – so we played today with two players who have experience and quality. Dlamini’s numbers in the league is top in every aspect, you should have a look.
“But sometimes our eyes are telling us things that aren’t totally true, we just want to confirm what we think about one player, even though the player is doing something totally different.”
The 28-year-old midfielder has scored two goals with seven assists in 27 games this season across all competitions.
