Golden Arrows coach Pitso Dladla has explained why some of his players were confused by the away-goal rule during their 3-2 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 semifinal second leg at King Zwelithini Stadium on Sunday.
Arrows players celebrated their second goal against Sundowns despite being 3-2 down. This comes after they scored an away goal in Pretoria in the first leg and thought they had won the semifinal.
But Dladla clarified to the media during the post-match media conference, saying some of the players were unaware the tie was still swinging in Sundowns’ favour, with the Pretoria team having scored three away goals.
“They knew the rules, the only confusion with one of the players was the actual scoreline. That was the only confusion where he thought it was 2-2,” Dladla said.
“That also means with the goal that we scored away, we were in front, leading 3-2, but the actual scoreline was 3-2, then again, we kept going.”
When Marcelo Allende scored the second goal, Dladla knew immediately that the away-goal rule had swung the tie in Sundowns’ favour and that his team were under pressure.
“We were under pressure because as soon as they scored the second goal, we knew that the away-goal rule favoured them,” he said.
“They never gave up. They kept going. That’s their goal. It feels bad, but what can you do? It’s one of the things of the tournament. The final score [across both legs] was 3-all, but the away-goal rule is the difference. That’s why one feels sorry for the players, not just for such a performance against any team but against the African champions.
“We can only learn and grow from this performance.”
Dladla said he remains proud of his players and will have the week to try to get it right when they host Sundowns again on Sunday at King Zwelithini Stadium.
“We are proud of these boys. What you see here on match day is what we do every day in training. How you play is how you train.”
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