Mamelodi Sundowns all but ended Orlando Pirates’ hopes of winning the Betway Premiership with a dominant 4-1 victory, leaving them nine points behind the league leaders. However, the poor state of the pitch at Loftus Versfeld raised questions about its impact on the game.
Sundowns secured the win with goals from Grant Kekana, two from Lucas Ribeiro, and a strike by Teboho Mokoena. Despite the challenging playing conditions, Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro refused to blame the pitch for his team’s defeat.
“The pitch will become a big topic, and I don’t want to give anyone the chance to say that I’m justifying our loss because the field was bad. It was the same for both teams,” Riveiro said during the post-match press conference.
He added, “Sundowns found a way to win despite the conditions, and as you all saw, no team was happy with the state of the pitch. The field wasn’t an advantage for anyone, and it’s unfortunate that the game had to be played under those circumstances. It’s not good for football, and it increases the risk of injury for every player on the field. But please don’t misunderstand me – we didn’t lose because of the field. It was just a very difficult situation for both teams to play in.”
