‘We have a great coach’ – Patrick Maswanganyi lauds Jose Riveiro as Orlando Pirates sail into Nedbank Cup semi-finals

The current holders secured their passage into the semi-finals of the cup competition with a thrilling 4-2 win with goals from Maswanganyi, Kabelo Dlamini, and Makhehlene Makhaula.

Ususthu had opened the scoring through Hendrick Ekstein, and levelled with a Taariq Fieles headed effort, but were ultimately undone by two late goals.

Maswanganyi, who was named Man of the Match for his performance lauded Riveiro for the impact he has had on the club.

“I’d like to give thanks to God, my family, my friends, those who are close to me, I think seeing them happy makes me want to do more every time, my grandma always says she’s proud of me, and it keeps me going,” Maswanganyi told SuperSport post-match.

“Today, I came here to give my best. Every game I want to give my best, not only for my friends and family but also for the fans who come out here to watch us, I think we owe them a lot.

“We’ve been losing results, and now we want to do well in the cup, we put in a great shift today as a team, it could have been anyone for Man of the Match, but I’m glad it’s me.

“I think it’s not the first time we’ve been there, many times we never came back from losing [positions] but ever since we started believing in ourselves, what we do, to be patient also.

“We have a great coach who also helps us slow down the momentum, no matter what happens [he makes us] chill and makes sure we play our own football, also to give great passes to each other, be natural, relax and we did that today.”