Orlando Pirates star has received praise from club’s head coach Jose Riveiro after a victory over SuperSport United in the MTN8 quarterfinal.
The Buccaneers started their 2024/25 campaign on a high, sealing the MTN8 semi-final spot after a comfortable 3-1 win against Matsatsantsa at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
Olisa Ndah, Monnapule Saleng and Evidence Makgopa rattled the back of the net for the home side while Vincent Pule came back to haunt his former side scoring the only goal for the Swanky Boys.
Riveiro has lauded Saleng saying he always comes to their rescue whenever they need him. The 26-year-old winger won the Man of the Match after an impressive display.
JOSE RIVEIRO GIVES PRAISE TO PIRATES STAR
“He [Saleng] played well right? I think he did a good job,” Riveiro said on SuperSport TV.
“He's a permanent threat when he's in the mood, when he is in the right space, so I'm happy for the boy, one more time.
“He gave us a lot and hopefully he can continue.”
Meanwhile, the Spanish guitar, Riveiro feels they were way better than Gavin Hunt’s troops. He admitted conceding a goal from Pule distracted them somewhat, however, they still came back stronger after that.
RIVEIRO – ‘WE DOMINATED CLEARLY’
“A proper football game I think. Intense, tough, quite high the rhythm, it's difficult at this stage of the season, so congratulations to both teams,” he added.
“SuperSport as well for the battle. It's amazing to play the first game at home and it's almost full. So all the components to have a great night, I think the boys deserve it.
“It's a good way to start the season, we're in the semi-finals, well deserved. We were better overall, so really happy with the performance.
“I think we were shaken a little bit after the 1-1. We have memories of the last game where they equalised here also in the second-half and not good memories.
“I think in that moment the team was shaken a little bit but I think after five, seven minutes we managed to create a good chance and that gave us the hype to come back.
“I think we dominated clearly, we had a lot of chances. It's difficult to play in these circumstances.”