Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says they are working hard to find the balance between the DStv Premiership and domestic cup competitions.
Pirates have been cup specialists under Riveiro, and last Saturday, they qualified for the Nedbank Cup semi-finals for the fourth time in the last five attempts – with a 4-2 win over AmaZulu.
The defending champions will meet Chippa United for a spot in the final, hoping to add to their Ke Yona Cup success and the two MTN8s under Riveiro.
In the dress rehearsal for Saturday’s clash, Pirates hammered Golden Arrows 7-1 to keep their aspirations of finishing in the top two in the Premiership alive.
Yet Pirates have been struggling to maintain their consistency in the league, unlike in the cup games. Hence, they trail log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns by 13 points.
And with Sundowns having two games in hand and unbeaten in the league this season, they are all but poised for a record seventh title in succession.
That dominance stung The Ghost, as they expected their club to build on the momentum from last season and knock Masandawana off their perch.
“It’s difficult. We are working on it, trust me,” said Riveiro, before taking a trip down memory lane, looking at where their league season went wrong.
“In December, we had a bad week. We lost to SuperSport (United) when we were leading. We then hosted Stellenbosch, led, but still lost.
“In that moment, everything started to look bad. But I think the team in that moment was good, and we were not that far (from Sundowns) at the top.
“I think we just lost a little bit of the rhythm. But again, this year, we lost to Sekhukhune (United) because we had a bad 30 minutes.”
After sending AmaZulu packing in the Nedbank Cup, Pirates are expected to add more misery to the Durban side in Saturday’s league clash at Orlando Stadium (5.30pm kick-off).
“We are trying not to have distractions or think this game is more important than the next one. In this environment, we must play a lot of games in different competitions,” Riveiro said.
Pirates’ resounding back-to-back wins have been based on the ability to once again find the back of the net in the first half.
Sure, much of the credit for the turnaround in goalscoring form will go to Tshegofatso Mabasa, who has scored seven goals since he returned from a loan spell in January, but he can’t do it alone.
☠️ 🏆 𝗚𝗢𝗔𝗟 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗛 🏆
— Orlando Pirates (@orlandopirates) April 16, 2024
📢 #Buccaneers, vote for your #OPPOxPirates March 2024 Goal of the Month:
🥅 A: Makgopa vs Polokwane City
🥅 B: Mofokeng vs Cape Town Spurs
🥅 C: Saleng vs Kaizer Chiefs
🥅 D: Mabasa vs Hungry Lions
🥅 E: Mabasa vs Sekhukhune… pic.twitter.com/HfrJDdFB7C
“I think as a group in recent games we finally found (a solution to) one of the obstacles that we faced last season and the start of the season: scoring in the first half,” Riveiro said.
“(Against AmaZulu last Saturday) we were close to going into half-time without scoring goals but we did, and that made the game to be more open.
“If the approach of the opponent is to make a low block, then it’s difficult to see the pace like the one that you get for scoring early.”