Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says they respect Stellenbosch 'big time' ahead of the MTN 8 final at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Saturday.
The Soweto giants advanced to the finals of the competition after overcoming SuperSport United and Cape Town City, while Stellenbosch defeated TS Galaxy and Mamelodi Sundowns.
Speaking the media ahead of the clash, the Spanish tactician pointed out they played against the Cape Winelands outfit four times and only managed to win one game last season.
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"We have to accept Stellenbosch the way they are, we respect them big time we faced them four times last season in the MTN 8 semi-finals and in our two games in the league.
"We beat them once and it took 94 minutes to beat them in Athlone against 10 players we did not get the result in any of the other games, so we have to accept that, it's going to be a game where we are going to be permanently under threat," Riveiro said.
Riveiro added that Stellenbosch have good players who are dangerous when going forward.
"We know Sanele Barnes, we know Lehlohonolo Mojela, we know Jayden Adams, we know the capacity they have to play quick forward and we know how aggressive they are in the counter-press," Riveiro added.
Pirates have emerged as somewhat of cup specialist under Riveiro and will looking to clinch their third MTN 8 title in a row.
IOL Sport