Orlando Pirates missed the opportunity to move to the top of the Betway Premiership table as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Cape Town City at the DHL Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday. Despite controlling much of the game, the Sea Robbers were undone by a second-half strike from Darwin Gonzalez, who replicated his performance against Kaizer Chiefs to hand the Blue and Gold Army all three points.
The loss leaves Orlando Pirates three points adrift of Mamelodi Sundowns, who remain at the summit of the Premier Soccer League. After the match, Pirates head coach JosΓ© Riveiro struggled to explain the defeat, admitting that despite his teamβs efforts, luck was not on their side.
βI can’t break down the loss right now,β Riveiro said after the match. βItβs tough to explain the result. There were clear differences between the two teams today. With all due respect to Cape Town City, itβs hard to pinpoint exactly why we lost the match. Football is like this β they took their chance and got the all-important goal, while we didnβt.β

Riveiro expressed his frustration at the missed opportunity, noting that his players had done everything they could to win the game. βWe put in a complete performance,β he said. βWe did everything we could to win. Sometimes, itβs just not your day, and thatβs the reality.β
The Pirates coach also addressed Patrick Maswanganyi’s missed penalty, which came just minutes before Cape Town City scored their winning goal. Riveiro labeled it as βpure bad luckβ and reflected on how unpredictable football can be. βDid you see how they scored?β he asked. βItβs something unusual. We played the way we usually play, and in previous games, we werenβt at the same level, but we still got the result. Today, it didnβt happen for us.β
Despite the disappointment, Riveiro remained resolute. βNow we have to focus on the next game. This one is gone, and we move forward,β he concluded.
Pirates now face the challenge of bouncing back from the loss as they continue their pursuit of the PSL title, with their focus firmly on their upcoming fixtures.