Riveiro jumps to Kabelo Dlamini's defence after struggles in Orlando Pirates' humiliating loss against Mamelodi Sundowns - 'Eyes tell us things that aren't true'

Kabelo Dlamini has been a key player for Orlando Pirates in the ongoing campaign.

On most occasions, the 28-year-old has been played in the advanced role for the Soweto giants.

Prior to Saturday's 4-1 loss against Mamelodi Sundowns in the Premier Soccer League, Dlamini had played 26 games for Bucs across all competitions with a return of two goals and seven assists.

Against Masandawana, Dlamini was paired with Makhehleni Makhaula in midfield, while Patrick Maswanganyi was given a free role.

It was a tactic that did not pay dividends as Riveiro wanted.

Dlamini struggled to play in the deeper role, losing possession on several occasions to put his team under pressure.

However, Riveiro insists the midfielder helped the team a great deal despite the embarrassing loss.

“Kabelo was helping us a lot on the ball, always giving us extra time on the ball to get organised, in the second half, he was the one giving us balance in midfield,” the Spaniard told the media.

“Even in our rest defence, winning duels, helping the centre-backs, sometimes our eyes [tell us] Makhaula is more defensive and Kabelo is more offensive, but in this team, everyone is defending when we don’t have the ball and we all try to attack, even Makhaula.

“Recently you can see the evolution of him as an offesnsive player when we’re on the ball – so we played today with two players who have experience and quality. Dlamini’s numbers in the league is top in every aspect, you should have a look.

“But sometimes our eyes are telling us things that aren’t totally true, we just want to confirm what we think about one player, even though the player is doing something totally different," Riveiro concluded.

The Saturday loss dented Pirates' chances of challenging Masandawana for the Premier Soccer League title.

The Soweto giants trail the defending champions by nine points which is not what they had anticipated.

Dlamini and his teammates are expected to give their best and try to catch the Brazilians who have played 15 games, one more than Pirates.