Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro underestimated Dondol Stars in the Nedbank Cup as he did expect the Buccaneers to win the quarter-final clash via a penalty shoot-out.

The Buccaneers sealed their progression to the semi-final of the tournament after they clinched a 5-4 win on penalties after the game ended 1-1 after extra time at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

Pirates are now set to renew their rivalry with Kaizer Chiefs after the two teams were drawn against each other in the semi-finals of the tournament.

Riveiro was confident that his side did not need penalties to win the game and felt his side should have put the game to bed in regulation time.

“I was quite calm on the bench. I was quite sure that we would make it before the penalties, but it’s a football game, and anything can happen,” Riveiro told the media.

“If we were playing basketball, we probably could have won with a 30 or 40 points advantage. But this is football, and it’s very complex. It’s easy and complex at the same time, but these things can happen.

“No. I didn’t change players in a hurry or look for something crazy; no. We trusted the players we had on the field because we were playing at a good level today.

“[Penalties] are not what we planned. But at the same time, it was not a surprise. It’s a cup game, and these games are special, that’s why we love the cups everywhere around the world, and South Africa is not an exception.

“We faced a good team, there are a couple of PSL teams who can tell you about them, and we managed to do enough to avoid the penalties, to be honest, but we were very unlucky in the last touch.”

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