Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro has explained why Nkosinathi Sibisi was taken off at halftime against Cape Town City.
The Buccaneers got back to winning ways in the DStv Premiership after defeating the Citizens 2-0 at Orlando Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The Spanish tactician surprisingly withdrew Sibisi at the start of the second half, with club Innocent Maela brought on for the second period.
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"Sibisi got a yellow card in the first-half, they were playing a lot in that direction trying to play diagonals with that wing, in our pressing it is important for our centre-backs to feel safe in those circumstances, where we have to run backwards, to our goal," Riveiro told SuperSport after the game.
"The way Cape Town City was playing, the way we were pressing, it was too much risk to play with that yellow, that's why we made that decision early in the game."
Riveiro was delighted to secure three points in the league, having previously dropped points at Chippa United before their CAF Champions League outing.
"First of all, so happy with the three points, we really wanted to collect the three points tonight, it's been a long period without playing for the three points, we finished the last one against Chippa, not a good taste," Riveiro added.
"And we really wanted to do it today, for us, for our fans as well, in front of an excellent team. It was difficult for us in the second-half, taking risks in the pressing, we couldn't get rid of that in the right way.
"And I think at the end of the game they paid a bit the effort that they did to try to keep us in our half and we managed to score the second goal and be more calm in the last minutes."
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