Following the failure of qualifying for the CAF Champions League group stages, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro takes full responsibility for the disappointing exit.
Pirates lost 5-4 on penalties to Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy during their second preliminary round second leg clash at the Orlando Stadium on Friday night.
Teenage sensation Relebohile Mofokeng missed the only penalty, as he bravely took responsibility and stepped up in a crucial encounter.
The stakes were high for the Sea Robbers, as they went into the match trailing by one goal and had to score two or more goals to cement their place in the group stages.
But it was not meant to be for Riveiro’s side, as they only managed to score one scrappy goal in regulation time.
The defeat means Pirates have now lost four games on a trot and Riveiro expressed his disappointment, saying that the recent poor run of form should be pinned on him and not the players.
“There’s not much to decode here about the game, it’s a difficult game to explain from the scoring perspective, the guys’ performance tonight was more than enough to drive us to the group stages,” Riveiro said after the match.
“A difficult day, not acceptable, this team is built and prepared to go to the Champions League group stage, so we can’t accept this result and say we’re unlucky, nobody feels proud of the result and that the fact we’re not going to the group stages.
“We have to accept it, analyse it and take responsibility [for it], the coach more than anybody else and we need to do a proper reflection about our participation in this competition because obviously, it wasn’t good enough.”
Riveiro also has an enormous responsibility to pick up his players and prepare them for their MTN8 title defense, when they cross swords against Mamelodi Sundowns at the Moses Mabhida Stadium next week Saturday.
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