With a certain section of the South African footballing community expressing disappointment about Orlando Pirates' lack of bite against Al Ahly, including the side's former striker Pollen Ndlanya, head coach Jose Riveiro has given his view on the matter.
Following a goalless draw against Al Ahly in a CAF Champions League second group game, there was a feeling the Buccaneers let the Egyptian giants off the hook, especially based on current form.
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Pirates, just like their opponents on Saturday, appeared to be settling for a point at Orlando Stadium, in a game that was on the edge, with clear-cut chances few and far between.
There were also a lot of expectations from Relebohile Mofokeng, who came to the game on the back of reports he had caught the attention of Barcelona B in Spain.
Former Bucs striker Ndlanya says he was disappointed with how the team approached the sold-out affair.
"I'm a little bit disappointed with Pirates. I think they got stage fright. I was expecting some individual brilliance from the likes of Mofokeng. They should have taken the game to Al Ahly. Supporters came in numbers and were expecting a lot," Ndlanya said on Radio 2000.
Riveiro, however, explained that Champions League matches are different and that they did all they could under the circumstances.
"We cannot afford to be naïve in these kinds of games, we're playing against a very good team. They are not who they are just because of the name, the results are there. I don't know how much you understand about the game, but if they couldn't do more, trust me, credit to the Pirates players," Riveiro told reporters post-match.
"The level of concentration in the defensive phase, discipline... it was something else. When you face teams like this, you must accept that there's gonna be moments they will dominate.
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"We have to accept that things like this [gamesmanship] will force us to play in the way we do not want. Their capacity to circulate the ball side to side, with good first touches, the ball is travelling from left to right in a different speed than the games we're used to play, that's pushing us not to defend as high as we're used to, we're exhausted. If you look at the players, they are done because the level of this game is totally different," the Spaniard added.
Pirates will travel to Ivory Coast to take on Stade d'Abidjan on Saturday evening.