Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro: Nedbank Cup semi is a different animal

The Buccaneers have won five trophies in Riveiro's short time at the club including two Nedbank Cups, and are on course for another final experience, provided they can beat a relegation-threatened Gallants.

Pirates claimed the MTN8 earlier on in the current campaign, and most recently secured their passage to the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League, with a 1-0 aggregate victory over Algerian giants MC Alger.

But in Bahlabane Ba Ntwa they face a team on the up under new head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou.

In his first match in charge, the Moroccan guided his team to a 2-0 Betway Premiership win over Pirates, although Riveiro was suspended for that match.

Ahead of the game, the Bucs boss said on IOL: "The other games that we play usually have three possible results, and it affects the approach to the game.

"This is a different story, as there is a possibility to go to a final, and it requires a different way to look at the game from both teams.

"We have a different experience in this type of competition.

"We are going to try to recover as quickly as possible in a short space of time to be prepared for the game as best as we can, and to do our best to be in the final, with whatever it takes."

Pirates were beaten knocked out of the Carling Knockout Cup in the first round by eventual winners Magesi, and Riveiro says they used that loss to improve in the cups.

"Every competition this season is helping us get better," he explained.

"But even when things are not going well – like it happened in one of the competitions earlier this season, after we were eliminated in the first game – it helped us understand that if you are not good enough on the day, the competition is over for you, and it's a learning process."