NEWS: Jose Riveiro pins hopes on red-hot Tshegofatso Mabasa ahead of Nedbank Cup title defence

Mabasa spent the first half of the season at Moroka Swallows on loan and his early return to the Buccaneers was unplanned, as he was forced to go back to his parent club when the Dube Birds ran into a financial crisis.

Swallows had to offload some of their players to balance their books while also parting ways with coach Steve Komphela, who – after his exit – hinted at issues of maladministration in the nest.

Pirates head coach, Jose Riveiro joined the Buccaneers in June 2022 and Mabasa was shipped out to Sekhukhune United on loan.

Now, as the duo are working together for the first time – Riveiro has pinned his hopes on the 27-year-old to maintain his top form as the club continues their Nedbank Cup title defence this weekend.

“When I first set foot at a Pirates training session, we had eight strikers, and Tshegofatso was not one of them. The reasons for that, I cannot tell you but they are probably related to his performances, but I don’t know [why he was not part of the team],” said Riveiro.

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“I did not have a conversation with him [while he was on loan]. I don’t know if he was in a different space or he was asking to go out on loan because he wanted to be constantly on the field or maybe at that time it was difficult at Pirates for whatever reason.

“But what I know is that he is back and he is performing at a very good level and he is helping us to play better and to only score goals. Hopefully, he continues in the same space and in the same shape because it is nice to see a player of his talent performing at this level,” the Pirates coach added.

Pirates will visit AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium this Saturday, kick-off is at 18:00 (SAT) and even though Pirates have not lost against Usuthu at this venue, Riveiro is under no illusion that Pablo Franco’s side will be a walkover.

“AmaZulu are a team that we respect a lot. They have experienced players who have proved many times that they are excellent players with a good competitive level,” said Riveiro.

“It is an away game and we understand that there are going to be all the conditions to understand that it is not going to be a walk in the park for us. At the same time, we are comfortable in those scenarios, we usually show our best version in those types of games,” he added.