Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says it was an ugly Nedbank Cup final against Kaizer Chiefs as he lost his first game in the competition.
Riveiro had come into the final against Kaizer Chiefs unbeaten in three seasons and chasing a historic three-peat for the Buccaneers, but Gaston Sirino and Yusuf Maart’s late stunner in between Evidence Makgopa header, secured the title for Amakhosi.
It was a heartbreaking end to Riveiro’s story in the domestic cup as Chiefs ended their decade-long trophy drought and the Spaniard admitted their rivals were perhaps deserved winners.
“It was an ugly final from the beginning until the end, not much football, more of a physical battle, and in that battle they were better than us, in the last part of the game,” he said on SABC1.
“Before the goal we had a couple of warning that the goal could be close and they managed to put one more goal in the net, that’s the summary of the game.”
Riveiro who is set to leave the club at the end of next month apologised to the supporters and players but said it’s not the end of the road.
“We tried to correct a couple of things in our build-up, nothing special, it was a similar game than the game at FNB but with less quality and less football today, and again congratulations to Chiefs, this one is for them,” he said.
“Sorry to our players, to our fans, it’s one more final, we could not make it this time but we will be back. There’s no last dance, there’s a game on Tuesday that we have to win.”
