Ncikazi hoping to continue where Riveiro left off

Orlando Pirates will begin the post-Jose Riveiro era when they welcome TS Galaxy to the Orlando Stadium in the penultimate round of the Betway Premiership season on Saturday, May 17.

Kick-off is at 3pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

CURRENT FORM:

Riveiro took charge of his final game for the Buccaneers on Tuesday and they gave him the perfect send-off after running out 3-0 victors over Golden Arrows in Soweto.

The Sea Robbers agreed to the Spaniard's early release after he accepted an offer from another club, believed to be Al Ahly, a "few weeks ago" and he signed off with a third consecutive league win.

At the time, Pirates still had an outside chance in the title race as they closed within 12 points of Mamelodi Sundowns with two games in hand, but Bafana ba Style were crowned champions 24 hours later following a 3-0 success against Chippa United.

Riveiro's assistant, Mandla Ncikazi, will oversee the club's final four games of the season on an interim basis, starting with the visit of Galaxy this weekend.

The Rockets have blown their hopes of qualifying for the Caf Confederation Cup after going off the boil since the March international break.

Adnan Beganovic had lost just two of his opening 16 matches and began his tenure with a 10-game unbeaten run to put Galaxy firmly in the frame for a top-three finish.

But his players appear to have checked out early after achieving their initial target of MTN 8 football and they've failed to win any of their last five outings.

A 1-0 defeat to Richards Bay on May 4 left the Limpopo outfit 11 points adrift of Sekhukhune United in fifth place with just one fixture remaining in their season.

WHAT WAS SAID:

TS Galaxy head coach Adnan Beganovic

"It is not easy to concentrate when you reach something. What we wanted was a top-eight spot. Maybe some players just said it was enough, we have reached what we wanted.

"For me, it is strange. It is difficult because every game is important for us and the club. I want to see all players on top of their game.

"We need to discuss what is happening, why we play the way we do, and why we don't run more. I can guarantee that we have more quality. We need to show more."

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Orlando Pirates - Mohau Nkota has enjoyed an impressive breakout season at Mayfair and played an integral role in their run to the Caf Champions League semifinals, contributing four goals and two assists in nine appearances. The 20-year-old winger has also found the back of the net twice in the Betway Premiership and he came close to scoring on two occasions against Arrows in midweek, but was denied by Ismail Watenga both times.

TS Galaxy - Keagan Dolly has started to become more influential on the team in recent weeks after struggling for game-time initially since joining the Rockets on a free transfer in November. The former Kaizer Chiefs attacking midfielder has started eight of their last nine games, opening his account against Arrows on March 1 and was on target again 10 days later against SuperSport United. He wasn't far away from grabbing an equaliser against the Natal Rich Boyz after curling a free-kick inches over the crossbar.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: (Last five Betway Premiership meetings)

Matches - 5

Pirates wins - 4

Galaxy wins - 1

Draws - 0