Cape Town — Hopes of "bringing some special for our people (The Ghost) this season" are fading fast after Orlando Pirates suffered a shock defeat on home soil to lowly Chippa United over the weekend.
On the eve of the Chippa clash, new Pirates coach Jose Riveiro promised that during his tenure the club will win a trophy. However, the team's miserable run of form after three games makes it highly improbable that Pirates will win a championship in the weeks ahead.
After scraping home against Swallows just over a week ago, Pirates were held to a draw by Stellenbosch. Things went from bad to worse when they came away empty-handed from a 1-0 defeat which means a meagre four points after three outings.
There were some positive signs against Swallows, but against Stellenbosch, they played second fiddle. Against Chippa the side did everything but score after enjoying an overwhelming possession advantage.
The two Pirates players to cop the most flak in the aftermath of the Chippa defeat were strikers Ghanaian Kwame Peprah and Bienvenu Eva Nga, the Cameroon international. Both players were presented with multiple scoring chances but failed to convert.
Some fans also vented their anger at the Spaniard Riveiro. He was subjected to a bout of mocking of being a 'plumber', a term local fans invented when they deem foreign coaches are not up to scratch.
Riveiro is not unable to put his finger on the problem. However, he feels the team may be lacking in confidence when play moves into the final third, and when the pressure is on to close the game out on a winning note.
"We just need to improve the finishing. Maybe we need to grow a bit more confidence in the last minutes and that's the key," said Riveiro.
“I think if we play this game (against Chippa) 50 times here at home this season, we’re going to win 49. This time we lost, and we must accept it with fair play.
"We look forward to the next one because it’s coming (soon).
"We did it well to play the first pass forward very quick when we steal the ball. We had at least two or three clear chances in the first 45 minutes, but we couldn’t capitalise on those.
“I think in the second half, our superiority was even more evident. However, we were not good enough with the last pass, or last shot.
“I think we have seen this game many times in our lives. One team dominating, the other one not, and in the end the one who was promising less during the 90 minutes getting the reward at the end."
Thembinkosi Lorch, who was used as an attacking midfielder just behind lone striker Peprah was Pirates' best player on the day. He was lively down the right channel and supplied several promising goalmouth crosses. On other occasions, he cut inside to create goalscoring chances around the fringes of the opposition penalty area.
Next up will be Royal AM, who host Pirates on Wednesday evening at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
IOL Sport