Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro is not getting carried away by their lead over Jwaneng Galaxy in the CAF Champions League group stage final qualifiers.
Pirates have one foot in the group stage after beating Jwaneng 2-0 in the first leg of the final qualifiers away last Saturday.
Their fate, however, will be sealed tomorrow evening (6pm kick-off) when they host the Botswana side at Orlando Stadium.
Sure, Pirates have the advantage, but Riveiro knows that they are not home and dry just yet, especially given the fact that strange things have happened in the past.
Last season, Pirates were knocked out of the competition by Jwaneng in the same round after the latter won 6-5 on penalties after the tie finished 1-1 over the two legs.
And with that in mind, Jwaneng coach Morena Ramoreboli is hopeful they can cause another major upset in Orlando.
Riveiro has clearly heeded the warning of his counterpart, urging his troops to leave no stone unturned at home in the second leg tomorrow.
“We have to complete the job against Jwaneng on Saturday,” said Riveiro after their 2-1 win over Chippa United in their Premiership opener on Wednesday night.
“In football, almost done is not real. It’s just people’s imaginations. The truth is we must play the second game against an extremely difficult team.
“We must do it at a better level than we did against Chippa. That’s what we need to learn, capitalise on and improve – we can’t allow the opponent here in Orlando to deserve to lead the game.”
Riveiro is right – they were far off their best against the Chilli Boys. They needed a late come-from-behind win to wrap up the three points.
Monnapule Saleng snatched the winner right at the death for Pirates, while Tshegofatso Mabasa equalised with a spot-kick for the Bucs after Andile Jali had given the visitors a deserved lead.
Despite the performance not being up to standard for the Sea Robbers, Riveiro was pleased that his troops didn’t drop their heads, instead fighting until the end, as that will be crucial this season.
“Nothing comes for free, so we cannot pretend that we want to be perfect all the time. It’s not possible ... We must give value to the points,” Riveiro said.
“The late goal gave us three points, yes, but the feeling wouldn’t change much over our second half if we got only a point.
“Obviously, with the 2-1 (scoreline), everything looks much better, and we must capitalise (on) the capacity to come back.
“It won’t be the last time this season that we’ll be chasing one goal, and today we showed that we do have the capacity to do it.”
Indeed, Pirates cannot slow down now. They must try to collect results with every passing game, especially in the four games they are to play before the next Fifa break.
Pirates will face Jwaneng tomorrow, Polokwane City on Tuesday, Richards Bay on Sunday (both in the league) and finally Stellenbosch FC in the MTN8 final at Moses Mabhida Stadium on October 5.
Given his squad depth, Riveiro has no doubt that they’ll be able to shoulder the congested schedule.
“We have more than two strong starting line-ups – we almost have three-and-a-half,” Riveiro explained.
“You can see the starting line-up was the same from the one in Botswana – with no changes.
“I think it is important to get that consistency in the starting line-up as we are trying to get the core that we want in the team.”
Riveiro is not naïve to think that the same players will carry the workload for the team, though. Hence he says almost every member of the squad will get a chance to contribute.
“We also need to introduce (new) players – we are playing every two or three days now. We have talent on the bench and in the stands,” Riveiro said.
“There’s going to be time for all of them soon (to get game time). We need everybody. Luckily we have everybody fit and ready to go.”