Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is delighted that his side took full advantage and recorded an 8-1 victory over Marumo Gallants as the goals will come in handy in the title race.
Pirates came from a goal down to put on a masterclass against Gallants as they run out 8-1 winners on Tuesday, the joint best winning margin ever recorded in the PSL.
With Mamelodi Sundowns beating AmaZulu 1-0, Pirates’ big win saw them become the team with the most goals scored so far, as they have netted 21, one more than the Brazilians, with their goal difference +17.
Pirates can go top on Sunday
It means Riveiro’s side, who are second on the table with 24 points, three behind Sundowns, can move top with a win over bottom-placed Magesi FC on Sunday December 29 and Riveiro says results like those are what they need to boost their confidence in what he expects to be a tight title race.
“In terms of self-confidence for the team, for the players, the individuals, it’s always important to see what they are capable of doing, the first half, you could feel the anxiety in the stands at 1-1, and some mistakes here and there,” Riveiro told iDiski Times.
“I think in the second half they showed a lot of personality to keep going, to keep pushing, to keep looking for solutions and they got a big reward in the end with this amount of goals. We all expect a very tight race for the [title] at the top of the season.
Can Pirates sustain the momentum?
“This is just game number nine but you can see that it’s not going to be an easy race and every game counts, every goal [scored] every goal you concede, every goal difference. So, we have to try and take advantage wherever the advantage is presented to us.
“Today we have an opportunity and I’m happy the guys didn’t speculate and continued to play vertical and continue attacking the spaces that were open and ready for us. And overall, I think it’s a very good performance.”
Pirates will play away to Magesi on Sunday afternoon and they will be looking to serve the same dose to the team who eliminated them from the Carling Knockout.
