Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has opened up on what was different with the Magesi league clash after the same side knocked them out of the Carling Knockout and went on to win the title.
Pirates vs Magesi on Sunday was billed a revenge game after Dikwena edged The Buccaneers 3-2 in the first round of the Carling Knockout in October in front of their home crowd at Orlando Stadium.
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The Spanish coach, who has built a name for himself in the country as a cup specialist, says Magesi had a different momentum in the Carling Knockout compared to current state of affairs, after a spectacular goal by Relebohile Mofokeng gave them a 1-0 win over the Limpopo side.
"Carling Cup in Orlando? That game was really weird, really strange, we had a good 30 minutes, suddenly from nowhere, we were 3-0 down, what is different is probably the momentum of Magesi is not the same," Riveiro told journalists at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium.
"They are in a difficult moment in terms of results, without coach Clinton (Larsen) right now, starting a new period, with a new coach, so games are always different. It's not the same to play in Orlando than to play here (at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium), so many components.
"But in the end, competitive match, I'm happy with the one nil," the Spanish coach said.
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After Magesi went a man down in the first stanza, Pirates were expected to score more goals in the second stanza but Riveiro has explained why it was easier said than done.
"Not really, it's easy to think that with one player more it's gonna be a piece of cake but usually it's not like that, especially in this football ground, if you want to call it like that," the 47-year-old mentor went on, critical of the state of the pitch.
"Because the circulation of the ball is very slow, there's no time to correct the mistake you make positionally, when you're defending, it's tough to run, it's tough to keep the ball," Riveiro added.
Pirates will be back grinding when they host Stade d'Abidjan in the CAF Champions League on Saturday evening in the new year at Orlando Stadium.