Jose Riveiro lauds Patrick Maswanganyi’s transition into Pirates structure

Maswanganyi played yet another good game for Pirates as they cruised into the first round of the CAF Champions League following a 4-0 aggregate victory over Comoros side Djabal in the preliminary round.

READ: Pirates cruise through to Champions League first round

The Stars of Africa academy product scored a goal and was instrumental in the creation of Zakhele Lepasa’s brace at Orlando Stadium on Friday night, and Riveiro says he has blended in nicely with his new teammates.

"If I had to highlight something with the new players – new in this environment, playing for Pirates is not an easy thing, so he started to show the level from the first day and the first game we played, it's something to highlight," said Riveiro.

"Happy to see the progression of the guy, it's important to also understand that he's surrounded by very good players that makes things also easy for each and every individual in the team."

Pirates now await the winner between Morena Ramoreboli’s Jwaneng Galaxy and Vipers SC from Uganda, with the Botswana national champions leading 2-0 ahead of the second leg. 

READ: Demanding season forcing Pirates to split load - Riveiro

Looking back at the game, Riveiro was not surprised by the visitor’s approach of a low block, even though their team was trailing from the first leg.

"We forced to take the initiative every single minute of the game, and that sometimes creates the feeling of being in a hurry and we were looking for the first goal to really consolidate the result," reflected the Spaniard.

"I think it took almost 30 minutes [before] we managed to score the second [aggregate] goal, and after that it was a bit disorganised with a lot of individual things.

"But I think, overall, two good legs, we didn't concede, we were solid even though the opponent didn't create so much, but credit to the boys, it's not easy.

"The most complicated [thing] against the low block is to take initiative and don't lose the focus. Overall, happy to be in the next round with Orlando Pirates, and looking for more."

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