‘Fatigued’ Bucs now take aim at Chiefs in cup tie

At Orlando Stadium

Ahead of their Nedbank Cup semifinal against Kaizer Chiefs at FNB Stadium on Saturday, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro feels his side are at a disadvantage as they have not had sufficient rest time.

The Buccaneers will head into the derby on the back of a 1-1 draw against Royal AM at Orlando Stadium on Wednesday in a DStv Premiership match.  

Though Riveiro made seven changes in the match, he feels Chiefs will be fresher as they last played on Monday when they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Swallows. Before Wednesday Pirates had played on Sunday.

“When you change seven players in the game it is difficult to perform as before. We had a very intense game against TS Galaxy [on Sunday]; we knew that at some point today we are going to feel the fatigue,” Riveiro told the media after the match.

“I think it was an unusual game, we didn’t have enough time to rest. The physiological studies say that you need three days minimum in between games. We didn’t get that.

“But it is not my business, I don’t decide when we play, we just try to do our best. And we will try to compete again in 70 hours and that’s where our mind is now.

“We will be disappointed for a couple of hours with the result but after that, we have to think about recovery protocols and the things that we can do to compete with an opponent that will get two or three more days than us to rest. We have to be smart and use every strategy to balance that disadvantage.”

Despite the draw, the Spaniard was pleased with his side’s display though he felt they should have walked away with all three points.

The Buccaneers had scored first 10 minutes after the interval when Relebohile Ratomo’s snap shot outside the box deflected off Elias Pelembe to go in. They then let their lead slip in added time when substitute Menzi Masuku rose high in the area to nod in to the bottom corner and earn his side a point, ending Pirates’ run of six successive league wins.

“We knew it was going to take a bit of time to start pumping and if it happens, it is acceptable,” he said.

“I think due to the approach of the opponent as well we managed to play a lot of time in their half and to create good opportunities to score.”