Jose Riveiro: Soweto Derby win important for Orlando Pirates' title race

Jose Riveiro: Soweto Derby win important for Orlando Pirates' title race

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro says their victory in the Soweto derby is crucial to their Betway Premiership title race.

Riveiro was speaking after Pirates’ last minute 1-0 win over arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB stadium, thanks to Patrick Maswanganyi’s penalty.

The win reduces the gap between Pirates and log leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, down to three points and Riveiro says it’s important that they don’t give away any points in their league title campaign.

"Any team, that wants to be a league contender in PSL must understand that you cannot give away so many points. Even though we're playing FNB, this is a home game for us. So, the home games are going to play a very important role in that race,” Riveiro said.

“It's a massive victory today plus all the emotional components and confidence and energy and all of these things but again, we are going to Polokwane on Wednesday and the price is the same, it's three points, massive."

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Pirates are now nine points clear of the fifth-placed Chiefs, who have played three games more than them, a clear sign of the gap between the two teams.

Riveiro has now won four Soweto Derbies back-to-back, but it is in the context of the league title race and managing to do it in style and keeping a clean sheet that this victory also becomes very important for him and the team.

“Even though, I think the result is fair, it's a reflection of both performances in my opinion. It was not a 5-0 performance but I think that Pirates was better on the day. It's a 0-0 game, the game should have finished 0-0,” he added.

“So, without that penalty, which I didn't see the penalty yet but from the bench it looked like two penalties, from the defender and the goalkeeper but anyway. If we want to call ourselves league contenders in South Africa, in the PSL, you know that you have to go over 70 points perhaps 72."