Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro heaped praise on Zakhele Lepasa he bagged a hat-trick against Sekhukhune United in the MTN8 this past weekend.

The 26-year-old continued his fine form in front of goal for Pirates after scoring a hat-trick in their 5-0 victory over Sekhukhune United.

As a result, the Buccaneers booked their place in the semi-final of the top-eight competition.

Riveiro was pleased with his side’s overall performance but reserved special praise for the Pirates striker, who has now scored five goals in four matches so far this season.

“I’m happy for the guy. He’s a guy whose always working hard, so it’s good that football is also paying back to him,” Riveiro told SuperSport TV after the game.

“Because he’s always in the right places like today and today he managed to put the ball in net more times than frequent.

“So I’m so happy for him, because it’s going to be good for the team, it’s good for Zakhele.

“I think today is a day to speak about the team, from the first to the last one coming to the field.

“It was a very good one. There is room to improve always, we want to be more consistent like we did today, but today is a collective [effort] it’s not only one player.”

Photo by Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix