Maritzburg United coach Ernst Middendorp praised his side’s resilience and character after their 2-1 victory over SuperSport United at Harry Gwala Stadium on Tuesday.
The victory saw the Team of Choice end their 11-match winless run across all competitions and eased pressure on Middendorp, who was given three matches to turn it around.
“We were happy with the second half of the cup game a few days ago and we were able to start where we left off,” Middendorp said.
“In that game, we were sluggish in the first half and we conceded the goal and we were not 100% aggressive to get the results in the end.
“But this time I think we fully deserved to win after a good spirit we have seen from our team today. I think the entire unit was very helpful and supported each other,” Middendorp said after the game.
With their next match only on February 25, when they host Golden Arrows in the KwaZulu-Natal derby, the 63-year-old hopes to build on this performance and that the break will give them more time to prepare for that fixture.
SuperSport coach Kaitano Tembo was left frustrated with his side's display and felt they deserved to lose. “We didn’t play well from the word go, we didn't have a good start. They wanted it a little bit more than us,” Tembo said.
“And we also didn’t defend well. The goals we conceded... we could have done better defensively. We lacked a little bit of depth and I think this break will us give a little bit of that as we will have a player like Thamsanqa Gabuza coming back.”
Meanwhile, Sekhukhune United coach McDonald Makhubedu was left impressed by their performance against Royal AM, despite losing 1-0 courtesy of Victor Letsoalo’s goal. It was Bafana Bafana striker’s 10th league strike of the term.
“I am happy about the performance I want to lose like this unlike last week [when they lost to second-tier’s Platinum City Rovers on penalties in the Ke Yona Cup first round]. I will take this defeat. We played well, we were just unlucky. We could have scored five,’’ said Makhubedu, who hailed the performance as their best so far this season.
Fixtures
Saturday: Chippa v Royal, Sisa Dukashe, 3.30pm; Swallows v Galaxy, Dobsonville, 6pm.
Sunday: Arrows v Cape Town City, Princess Magogo, 3.30pm; Sekhukhune v Baroka, Ellis Park, 6pm.
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