Riveiro hopeful the goals will keep flowing

Riveiro hopeful the goals will keep flowing
Patrick Maswanganyi of Orlando Pirates celebrates a goal with teammates during the DStv Premiership 22023/24 match between Orlando Pirates and Cape Town City on the 29 August 2023 at Orlando Stadium © Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Aug 30, 2023. 11:33

Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has welcomed their good fortune in front of goal this season and is hoping the team can keep producing the goods where it matters most.


The Buccaneers have found the back of the net 15 times in six matches across all competitions, only failing to score on the opening weekend of the new DStv Premiership campaign in a 1-0 defeat to Stellenbosch.


Riveiro’s side qualified for the sound round of the CAF Champions League after a 3-0 victory over Djabal Club at the Orlando Stadium on Friday secured a 4-0 aggregate win in the first round.


Zakhele Lepasa bagged a brace in the second leg to continue his remarkable form this term, with the striker taking his tally to eight goals which included a hat-trick against Stellenbosch in the MTN 8 quarter-finals.


Riveiro admits their productivity in the final third has taken the pressure off in the early part of the campaign and is hopeful the goals will keep flowing.


“The goal is the promised land in football, it is what we are looking for,” the Spaniard said. “When you are in the dynamics and you are not scoring, you are creating, but the goal is not going into the back of the net, then everything is much more difficult.


“We start to know this narrative around the team that is not scoring and this player is not scoring. That’s extra pressure, we have to deal with it with no problem.


“But now it seems we are more lucky in front of goals and hopefully, we can improve that record game after game.”


Botswana Premier League champions Jwaneng Galaxy stand in Pirates’ way of reaching the group stages of Africa’s elite club competition, with the first leg taking place in Lobatse on the third weekend of September.







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