Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says their 8-1 thrashing is massive for their confidence and a small potential advantage in the title race with Mamelodi Sundowns.
Pirates made a dramatic turnaround in goal difference to move to +17, one goal ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns who had won 1-0 with ten men against AmaZulu on Tuesday.
It was a part on Christmas Eve for The Buccaneers and their supporters at Orlando Stadium as Tshegofatso Mabasa bagged a hattrick in a scintillating attacking display.
“In terms of self-confidence for the team, for the players, the individuals, it’s always important to see what they are capable of doing, the first half, you could feel the anxiety in the stands at 1-1, and some mistakes here and there,” he said when asked by iDiski Times what they incredible swing in goal difference does for the squad.
“I think in the second half they showed a lot of personality to keep going, to keep pushing, to keep looking for solutions and they got a big reward in the end with this amount of goals. We all expect a very tight race for the [title] at the top of the season.
“This is just game number nine but you can see that it’s not going to be an easy race and every game counts, every goal [scored] every goal you concede, every goal difference. So we have to try and take advantage wherever the advantage is presented to us.
“Today we have an opportunity and I’m happy the guys didn’t speculate and continued to play vertical and continue attacking the spaces that were open and ready for us. And overall I think it’s a very good performance.”
Pirates could move top of the table if they beat Magesi in their game in hand on Sunday in Polokwane.
