Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has discussed the difficulties they faced against Sekhukhune United, who dented their CAF Champions League ambitions with a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Pirates remained in second spot in the DStv Premiership only with a slightly better goal difference over third-placed SuperSport United after dropping two points against Sekhukhune, while Matsatsantsa beat Kaizer Chiefs, with only one match remaining.
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Terrence Dzvukamanja broke the deadlock for the Buccaneers on the half-hour mark but Babina Noko replied seven minutes later through former Pirates defender Edwin Gyimah.
Riveiro praised Sekhukhune's abilities defensively and revealed that he did not expect them to play with a five-man defence, something he believes they have not done all season.
"A difficult game, not what we expected actually, (Sekhukhune) is a very difficult team to break (down), ten clean-sheets in the last 20 games under coach Brandon (Truter)," Riveiro said in a press conference.
"It speaks about the opposition that we faced. We expected a tight game but not as much as it was in terms of the way they defended and the structure that they used, with a back-five, something they didn't use anytime this season if I'm not mistaken.
"So we tried to adjust as soon as possible, it's something quite frequent that the opponent comes to Orlando (Stadium) and they do something different. Usually, we were patient enough in the first-half but not deep enough," he said.
The Spanish mentor was also not happy with the way they conceded from a corner, where two Sekhukhune players flicked the ball before it got to Gyimah, who scored from close-range.
"But anyway in one action we managed to get the lead but the answer from the team after getting the lead was not what we wanted, we gave them metres and opportunities to be close to our box," he continued.
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"Due to that they get a couple of actions through set-pieces, in one of those actions that should never happen they scored a goal that we cannot concede, we just can't. I think they touched the ball three times with the head in the box," he added.
Pirates will come up against Sekhukhune again in the Nedbank Cup final on 27 May.
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