Pirates’ Riveiro – ‘It was an ugly match’ 

Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro clearly wasn’t impressed with what he saw after his side were beaten 2-1 by Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday. 

ALSO READ: Chiefs sink Pirates to end drought with Nedbank Cup glory

Pirates were unable to win the trophy for the third successive season. They lost their first ever Nedbank Cup match since Riveiro arrived at the club in 2022. The Spaniard will still leave Pirates at the end of this season with five knockout trophies, three MTN8s and two Nedbank Cups. 

Pirates’ Riveiro – ‘Not so much football’

“It was an ugly match, there was not so much football from both sides. We were fighting the elements, and the game was affected quite heavily by the penalty,” Riveiro told journalists after the match. 

Chiefs got a penalty early in the game. Pule Mmodi went down under the challenge of Deano Van Rooyen. 

Pirates did equalise through Evidence Makgopa. And RIveiro hinted that his own side should have had a penalty for a foul in the box on Relebohile Mofokeng. 

“We had to come back again (Pirates came back from a goal down to beat Chiefs 2-1 in the Betway Premiership the previous weekend). And we managed to do it. 

“In the first half we were territorially superior, we only had some problems with Mmodi, everything else was under control. 

“We had an opportunity to score a second, with one action of Rele in the box. But we were not rewarded with a penalty.”

‘It was impossible’

“In the second half the game was even more ugly, more physical, with more interruptions. In the last 20 minutes both sides with substitutes made the game a bit more open. And in that moment they scored the second goal. It was impossible for us to generate enough in the last ten minutes.”

ALSO READ: Chiefs hero Maart praises fans after Nedbank Cup triumph

Yusuf Maart’s volley from the edge of the box put Chiefs 2-1 up and ultimately meant they won their first trophy in ten years. 

“Congratulations to Chiefs for the trophy, and that’s it,” added Riveiro.