'The introduction of Mayo gave them more control'

The impact made by Khanyisa Mayo after being thrown in by a CR Belouizdad deep in trouble with the score at 2-0, caught the eye of their CAF Champions League opponents Orlando Pirates' coach Jose Riveiro.

When it came to the scoring, it was an-all South African jamboree at the Stade du 5 Juillet in Algiers, Algeria when Mohau Nkota's brace gave Pirates a solid lead going into halftime.

Mayo's headed effort from a corner kick in the 66th minute brought out a sense of belligerence that was sorely lacking among the hosts in the first half. 

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Ultimately, the Buccaneers held on long enough to collect all three points, but the former Cape Town City star had left a last impression on Riveiro.

"The introduction of Mayo after 30 minutes gave them more control," the Spaniard said after the match.

"It was not a surprise [at their technical level] that we did our job, the good and the bad [we analysed], like all of us [have].

"But we were not surprised by them, actually.

"We knew in the second half what would happen. It's a normal thing against a team like this playing at home, on an extremely fast field.

"So, we were prepared. Luckily, we managed to keep the advantage and go home with the three points," revealed Riveiro.

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Mayo had been brought on as the first substitute of the match just 34 minutes into the encounter for Ishak Boussouf. 

The 26-year-old had created plenty of chances for the hosts and missed a few himself before connecting well with a corner and heading past Sipho Chaine.

He had joined the Algerian giants ahead of the current campaign on a big-money move from the Citizens. 

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