Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro said he’s aware of the difficulty of facing Stellenbosch FC in the MTN8 final which will be played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
Riveiro’s comments come after the Buccaneers struggled against Stellies last season both in the league and cup competitions.
“We have to accept Stellenbosch the way they are.
We respect them big time.
We faced Stellenbosch four times last season, in the MTN8 semi-finals and our two games in the league.
We beat them once, it takes 94 minutes in Athlone to beat them against the same players.
We didn’t get a result in any of the other games, so we know very well what it means to play Stellenbosch.
And we have to accept it,” said Riveiro during a media briefing in Johannesburg.
The Spaniard emphasized the team would be permanently under threat, because of Stellies transitions.
Pirates is hoping to make history by becoming the first team to win the MTN8 cup three times in a row.
But Riveiro warned against complacency, citing the danger posed by some of Stellies key players such as Sanele Barns, Devin Titus and Lehlohonolo Mojela amongst others.
“We know Barns, we know Titus, we know the young Mojela, we know Jayden Adams.
We know the capacity they have to play quick forward.
We know how aggressive they are.
In the counter press, it is the top team in the league, in the PSL tournaments,” warned the coach.
The sold-out match will kick off at 18:00.
