Al Ahly are favourites, but we will turn Orlando stadium into a fortress – Jose Riveiro

Riveiro was speaking after the Pirates’ hard-fought 2-1 win on the road in Algeria against CR Belouizdad in the opening group stages game at the Stade 5 Juillet.

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Ahly also cruised at home against group stages debutants Stade Abidjan from Côte D’Ivoire. 

Bucs have not been to this tournament stage since 2019, and next week, they will host the Egyptian Giants at Orlando Stadium.

Riveiro says the aim is to make eSgodini very uncomfortable for visitors.

''I think it is still early to speculate, but obviously Al Ahly is going to be the favourite team whichever group they are in. It is our first experience together as a group in the Champions League stage, facing tough opponents. We are trying to go game by game, we are facing Al Ahly next in our game at home. We are going to make sure that Orlando Stadium is not an easy place for anybody in this group,'' said Riveiro.

In CRB, Bucs faced a team that have been regulars in the Champions League's group stages for five years and have reached the quarterfinals on three occasions in the past four years. Riveiro says they had thoroughly prepared for CRB, and the game plan worked perfectly.

''Not at all. We know them very well. Their capacity to elaborate to play fast, the contribution of their full backs. Even their introduction of Mayo after 30 minutes gave them control. It was not a surprise, we knew the opponents very well, we did our job. We were prepared and managed to get the three points,'' added Riveiro.

After scoring two early goals and causing the hosts problems in transitions, Pirates were forced into a defensive mode at halftime and in the second half. Riveiro says this is normal in an away game when you’ve got a lead.

''Halftime is  2-0 up for us, and 2-0 down for the opponents. Something had to happen for the home team, people were expecting them to do something. Us we're a team that likes being on the ball, we want to play as much as we can. Unfortunately we didn't find continuity in the second half for another goal,'' he expressed.

 The introduction of Bafana Bafana and former Cape Town City striker Patrick Mayo midway through the first half also changed the shape and approach of CRB. Riveiro says the game was not how they wanted to play, but the opponent's quality forced them.