TOUGH LOSS Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro commended his team's valiant effort in the Caf Champions League despite their narrow 3-2 semi-final defeat to Pyramids in Egypt, marking their first loss in the tournament. Seen here: Pirates player Tshegofatso Mabasa reacts after the final whistle.
Image: Sydney Mahlangu, BackpagePix
Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro sung the praises of his troops, despite their heartbreaking exit in the Caf Champions League semi-final to Pyramids at 30 June Stadium, in Cairo, on Friday.
With the first leg in Orlando having ended goalless, the return fixture in Egypt witnessed a five-goal thriller with Pyramids running out 3-2 victors.
Though Pirates had much less possession with 39% of the ball, they were first to score when Relebohile Mofokeng opened the scoring in the 41st minute. First Fiston Mayele levelled the scores just before the break, and seven minutes into the second half Mohau Nkota put Pirates ahead once more.
Their lead, again, was short-lived as Ramadan Sobhi made it 2-2 five minutes later.
The winner came six minutes before time as Mayele bagged his brace which ended the bustling run of Pirates in the competition.
“Congratulations to Pyramids for going to the finals. Secondly, congratulations to our players; our group for the fantastic performance that they gave us and all of our fans during this season,” said Riveiro.
“It’s been second to none, honestly. We are out of the competition [Champions League] after losing our first match in the whole tournament. A tough one to swallow, to digest, we will need a little bit of time because I think it’s a very cruel result.
It was a commendable performance from Pirates as they reeled off 13 shots in total, only just behind the 15 of Pyramids.
“We played, I think, a really good game. It was a top performance away from home against an excellent team, but we couldn’t control two moments of the game where we got the lead two times, and they managed to equalise almost immediately after our goals.
“That was probably the key that we couldn’t make it to be leading the game for a little bit longer to create a little bit more of uncertainty to the opponent and at the end of the game when the game was about to die, 2-2, set-play; well executed takes them [Pyramids] to the final.
“So it’s a mix of pride and sadness at the same time, but I guess it’s a normal thing, and we’re falling, we’re getting out of the competition, but we do it in a good way, or in a way that we all have to feel proud about ourselves.”
@Michael_Sherman
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