Orlando Pirates’ Mabasa delivers masterclass in Nedbank Cup victory

Orlando Pirates coach José Riveiro wanted to avoid extra-time like the plague and was highly relieved when his side were 3-0 up around the hour mark against Baroka on Saturday.

Tshegofatso Mabasa, the lone striker in Pirates' 4-2-3-1 formation, delivered a masterclass at Orlando Stadium with a hat-trick. This secured the Buccaneers’ place in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals and kept them on target to defend their title they won over the past two seasons. Mabasa gave Pirates the early ascendancy with two first-half goals.

After the match, Riveiro could not hide his delight that his team had wrapped up the game in 90 minutes against the second-tier opponents Baroka, who occupy a mid-table position in the First Division.

"It was a relief to finish the game in 90 minutes and avoid going into extra time," said Riveiro. "If there's something that we didn't need, it was extra time, because it would affect a lot of the planning for next week.

“We have a difficult game away against Golden Arrows (away on Wednesday) and we are hosting Cape Town City here on Saturday.

“It’s good to finish the game inside the 90 minutes and, like I said, also have the opportunity to give some other players game minutes. Not because we felt that the game was over but because in football, you never know. Running up a lead of three goals gives you that advantage.

“It gave us the opportunity to take Rele (Relebogile Mofokeng) off early to give him some rest. He is one of those playing every single game, almost every minute of our recent matches."

Riveiro was pleased with the mindset of his players and their commitment to eke out a winning result.

"We are in the next round and that's the most important thing. These games (against lower-tier opponents) are never easy because you have to find the right mindset to approach the game," said Riveiro.

“We had to spend more time in the rhythm that we are used to playing and today we were good in some little moments during the first half. We managed to get the lead and to score an early goal; everything became much easier. It was 2-0 at half-time, a good advantage, definitive, a good beginning for the second half."

The half-time lead offered Riveiro a chance to give substitutes game time, and he made five second-half changes.

"We used that 3-0 lead to rest some of our players and to give some time to the players who are not frequently playing. This way we try to get more people involved in the last part of the season,” said Riveiro.

“It's normal that we didn't finish the game very well organised because, like I said, many substitutions and changes in the last 30 minutes were a bit disruptive.

“Overall, I think it's a good thing that we are in the next round because that was the main objective. There are two possible results in the knockout games and we got the one we were looking for."