Riveiro Clarifies Decision to Sub Ndlondlo After 20 Minutes

On Sunday, Orlando Pirates were unable to get back to winning ways in the DStv Premiership after playing to a goalless draw against AmaZulu.

Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo was introduced in the 66th minute in place of Siphelo Baloni but was then removed after 85 minutes due to an eye injury.

Speaking after the game, Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro explained that Ndlondlo had suffered an eye injury during the match, which prevented him from using one of his eyes. Despite the setback, Riveiro felt that the Buccaneers’ performance deserved more than a point on the night.

“Disappointed with the result, obviously I think our performance deserved more than a nil-nil game,” said Riveiro.

“Like I’m used to saying it’s a scoring game and we didn’t, so that’s why we’re running with only one point.”

The Spanish coach added that the Pirates had created chances in the second-half, but had failed to find the back of the net.

“We tried everything, I have a feeling we’re doing a lot of things very well, that’s something that makes me feel positive for the future, we’re getting close to the space we want to be,” he said.

Riveiro concluded by noting that the match had been disrupted by several interruptions, which had disrupted the team’s rhythm.

“It was a strange first-half. I think it was something to do with the interruptions. When we were at our best the game was interrupted several times and we lost the tempo in the first-half,” he said.

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