Following his side’s 1-1 away draw in the Ivory Coast in the Caf Champions League on Saturday, Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has revealed why he made the surprise decision to substitute key forward Evidence Makgopa.
The 24-year-old Makgopa put Pirates ahead through a penalty in first half injury time, before his score was cancelled out by Stade d’Abidjan with an Ousmane Meite strike less than 10 minutes after the interval.
Just after the hour mark, despite having already scored for Pirates, Makgopa was substituted as Gilberto came on in his place.
Riveiro revealed just why he made the decision.
Physical problems
“I think Evidence did a fantastic job in the first half, creating a lot of chances for Rele [Mofokeng] and [Mohau] Nkota. He plays from the second line. He’s a player with a lot of mobility,” said Riveiro.
“He had some problems in the first half, physical problems, so we spoke at half-time, and the guy was very honest with me. Makgopa told me that he could complete 10 to 15 more minutes.
“So that’s why even before we started the second half, Mabasa was doing the warm-up already because we knew he was going to be a technical sub.”
It would be a fair assessment to say Pirates were dominant, yet wasteful over the 90 minutes. Pirates had 55% possession and delivered 500 passes to the 375 of their opposition. Pirates also reeled off 15 shots to the 10 of Stade d’Abidjan .
The result took Pirates to top of Group B. The SA outfit lead the way with five points, one ahead of Egyptian Giants Al Ahly, with CR Belouizad of Algeria third with three points. It was a welcome point, though, for Stade d’Abidjan who earned their first points of the group stage in their debut appearance at this level.