Riveiro waxes lyrical after Pirates reach fourth final

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has lauded his players after they reached their fourth cup final in just two seasons.

The Buccaneers beat Chippa United 3-1 in the Nedbank Cup semifinal on Saturday at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to book their place in the final, where they will have a chance to defend their title.

Pirates are also finishing the season as strong as they did in the previous campaign when Riveiro guided them to the Nedbank Cup and MTN8 titles while finishing second in the DStv Premiership.

They have already defended the MTN8 and are also on course to defend their Nedbank Cup next month in Mbombela, while they are still fighting for a second spot with Stellenbosch in the league.

"It is unique to be in four finals in two seasons. I think it is not frequent. It tells a lot of good things about the process that it is going through in our club," Riveiro told the media during the post-match press conference.

"I said to the players after the game that the ones who managed to take us to the finals last season, many of them are not in the field right now or they are not in the team.

"But they showed us the way to compete. They showed us the way to play these types of games. They are still contributing and this is the team's achievement.

"The level of ambition of the team in this type of tournament and the level of commitment is excellent.

"I think we are not just winning in this tournament [Nedbank Cup]. We are playing memorable games. We are going to play one more game, which is going to be in our memories forever."

Kabelo Dlamini netted a brace, while Tapelo Xoki scored the other goal. Elmo Kambindu scored for Chippa in the second half.

Riveiro said Bucs are different from last season. "To win the Nedbank Cup last season, we worked very hard in every game. Not playing the type of football like the guys are playing right now," he said.

"But again, it is part of the process. We are playing much more confidently and competing the way we were competing last season.

"I would like to congratulate everyone involved. We all know how difficult it is to play one final in your career, but four for this group... it is an excellent achievement."