Durban - Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler conceded that his team’s failure to effectively deal with long-balls was their downfall following their 2-1 MTN8 quarter-final defeat to AmaZulu at the Athlone Stadium in the Western Cape on Saturday.
City’s frustrating start to the new season continued with their elimination from the Wafa Wafa competition, a tournament that they finished runners-up in to Mamelodi Sundowns last season. The Citizens have also only won one out of their six league games to date.
“We created the better chances. The second half was similar. The only time that they hurt us was from set-pieces or when they got long balls in from behind. We didn’t deal with it effectively. Today, to be honest, a lot of the players that came off the bench did not give us anything that we could have hoped for,” said Tinkler.
City’s poor defending once again haunted them. Gabadinho Mhango took advantage of some defensive miscommunication from the Citizens within the opening 10 minutes, before setting up Augustine Kwem to put Usuthu ahead.
“There was an individual error at the back and a poor pass. It left us open and vulnerable. We then had to try and prevent them from scoring. The individual errors are what we are judged on as coaches. Individual errors fall on our shoulders so we have to take that responsibility,” said Tinkler.
Given that they now do not have to focus on MTN8 football, Tinkler’s immediate task will be to resurrect his team’s league campaign. They are currently 12th after six games, which represents a poor return for them, especially after they finished as the league’s runners-up last season, earning qualification to the CAF Champions League.
City’s next game is an away trip to TS Galaxy at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. The Rockets are fifth and they have been impressive this season, with Sead Ramovic’s side yet to lose or conceded a goal in the league.
Galaxy also proved that they can compete against any side in the top-flight by registering a 1-0 win over Mamelodi Sundowns earlier in the month. The game against Galaxy promises to be a challenging one for Tinkler’s men.