Orlando Pirates to avoid complacency after CAF Champions League victory

Orlando Pirates to avoid complacency after CAF Champions League victory

With Orlando Pirates now in the driving seat in Group C in the CAF Champions League, coach Jose Riveiro has assured that they will not be resting on their laurels going to the last two matches in the group.

Riveiro was speaking after watching his team brush aside Stade d’Abidjan from Ivory Coast, beating them 3-0 in their fourth group game played at Orlando Stadium last night.

Bucs are now a point clear ahead of Al Ahly at the top with eight points from four matches, and Riveiro backs his players to continue with the business of collecting points.

"No, no, that's not gonna be a problem, trust me. We are learning like I said many times, the game today, we finished on the field with five of our DDC players but they are accumulating this experience in order to understand what it takes to play at this level, to compete at this level, to challenge the clubs that we are challenging right now in the group,” Riveiro said.

“It's about ambition, it's about dedication, it's about commitment. We went through a difficult moment where you have to show that you are still a professional football player at the time where everybody is having festive days and having parties and having but you still working each and every day because we are committed to our goals, we are not gonna change now."

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Pirates’ next fixture against CR Belouizdad, who shocked Ahly with a 1-0 win in Algeria on Friday, becomes a crucial game for the Soweto side.

A win against the Algerians will go a long way to secure a place in the quarterfinals, and Riveiro says they will pan accordingly.

"But at the same time, we know that the next Saturday we continue talking about the Champions League, knowing that we have one game in between in Cape Town, an extremely difficult one so our mind after tomorrow is gonna focus on that game in Cape Town and then we're gonna prepare ourselves to host CR Belouizdad and try to work for a good competition one more time,” the coach added.

“We don't even speak about our options or possibilities, we only talk about the next game in that locker room and we are not gonna think now because suddenly some things are looking good, we know how simple or how quick you can lose your position in this sport."