We have an opportunity to write a page in the club’s history – Riveiro

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro believes their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League second preliminary round return leg against Jwaneng Galaxy is another opportunity for him and his charges to contribute to the rich history books of the club. 

Pirates welcome the Botswana side to the Orlando Stadium in Soweto on Friday evening with the hope of reversing a 1-0 away loss to secure a place in the competition’s group stages. 

The Buccaneers have not enjoyed a good spell of results of late, having lost their last three fixtures with zero goals to their name. 

While this may ring some alarm bells for the fans, Riveiro – who won the hearts of the Pirates faithful with two trophies in his debut season believes Friday’s match presents the ideal platform for them to further contribute to the club’s history by overcoming what seems to be a very tough obstacle against Galaxy. 

“It’s a home game against a good team, against an opponent that is leading already one-nil. It’s a challenge but we love the challenges and this one is an opportunity to prove that even in difficult circumstances we can be our best version. What happened in Botswana is passed and we have an opportunity to write an important page in the club’s history. It’s going to be difficult for us, but will be even more difficult for the opponent”, warned Riveiro. 

Touching on the poor string of results of late, the Spaniard believes it presented them with an opportunity to introspect and get the mindset right – adding that the players know what is at stake.

“Sometimes results are convenient during the process to understand that when you are not in your best, when you don’t have the proper mindset, you can easily look a different team and that’s what we do not want to be.

"Tomorrow (Friday) is about having the opportunity to forget the last game as soon as possible with a good result and a convincing performance in front of our fans. The players know how important this is for us as a group, for our club and fans, so it’s going to be a proper team with the proper mindset,” said Riveiro. 

Kick-off at the Orlando Stadium is at 17h30 GMT.