Jose Riveiro was at a loss for words following Saturday’s shocking 3-2 defeat to Magesi FC in the Carling Knockout Cup opener.
Fresh from their success in the MTN8, Orlando Pirates were looking forward to another cup run.
But it was the newly promoted side who opened the scoring at the Orlando Stadium through Delano Abrahams on 32 minutes.
A Thabiso Sesane own-goal just seven minutes later further extended Dikwena tsa Meetse’s lead, ahead of an Edmore Chirambadare effort in first half stoppage time.
Pirates managed two goals very late on in the game, with Kabelo Dlamini on target with 86 minutes played, ahead of an 89th Evidence Makgopa strike.
After the game, a shellshocked Riveiro tried to explain the defeat.
He said on SuperSport: “We didn’t play badly, even in the first half when we were 2-0 down, but the goals were something obscene. To be honest we cannot afford to defend those situations as a team because it was not individual mistakes.
“Sometimes it happens, it was a collective, it’s something to be concerned about from my side. 3-0 at half-time, it was difficult to come back. We tried until the end, and we were very close.
“It’s difficult to explain how we didn’t score more than one or two goals, but congratulations to the opponent, they did their job. They managed to slow down the game enough to utilise their chances in transitions. That’s the reading of the game.”