The latter picked up a red card during their Betway Premiership 1-0 defeat to Sekhukhune United on Wednesday night.
The red card worsened the outgoing Bucs coach’s defensive woes. He is still without Thabiso Monyane, Deano van Rooyen, his centre back duo of Olisa Ndah and Thabiso Sesane, who are all nursing injuries.
Pirates have the players to fill in
Speaking to the media after the defeat on Wednesday, Riveiro said he is not too concerned about Sibisi’s suspension. He was adamant he has the players on the bench who can step into the position.
“I am not too concerned because we still have Tapelo Xoki, Innocent Maela, and we have more than enough players to fill in that position,” Riveiro said.
The other players include Yanga Madiba and Siyabonga Ndlozi, who were both on the bench against Babina Noko.
Recent weakness in defending set-pieces
Riveiro also discussed his team recently conceding goals from dead-ball situations. He said this was the element of the game they needed to improve on.
“Obviously, defending set pieces is an element that we need to improve, and get better at minimising our mistakes in those situations.
“I think most of the season, we used to be quite solid and dominated the other team whenever we were in those situations. But it is true that, for whatever reason, in recent matches, we suffered and conceded more goals through set plays.
“But it is something that we are working on every week, and therefore we will not panic. I am confident that we will get it right,” Riveiro added.
The Buccaneers are currently sitting at number two in the standings with 46 points plus two games in hand. They continue to chase runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns 12 points ahead with five games to play.
The Buccaneers meet Chiefs this Saturday in the league and again seven days later in the Nedbank Cup final.
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