Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has expressed his disappointment with his team’s performance in the second half of their 1-1 draw against Cape Town City FC in the MTN8 semi-final first leg.
READ: Cape Town City draw level against Orlando Pirates in MTN8 Semi-Final
Despite taking an early lead through Relebohile Mofokeng, Pirates struggled to maintain their momentum and were ultimately pegged back by Jaedin Rhodes’ goal.
Riveiro criticized his team’s defensive positioning in the second half, stating that they dropped too deep and allowed Cape Town City to dominate possession. He emphasized the need for his players to be more aggressive and proactive in their approach.
“It was one-half for each team, but I think the first one was also not 100% for us. I think in the first half, Pirates had more control and were clearer about what we wanted to do,” Riveiro said on SuperSport TV.
“Sipho Chaine intervened two times in the first-half but it was more of our mistake, not that Cape Town City was creating [chances].”
“In the second-half, we lost control in the 15 to 20 minutes, until they scored we couldn’t contain them and we were defending too low.
“We were not really doing what we wanted and we couldn’t manage to stop them until they scored but I think late in the game we had a couple of opportunities to get more advantage. But it’s 1-1, I think it’s going to be good on Saturday.”
The second leg will kick off at 15h00 on Saturday at Orlando Stadium where it’s all to play for.