A night to forget for Mondli Mbanjwa? Despite his tireless work rate, Mbanjwa, left, was one of several Usuthu stars who struggled to find the clinical edge at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Photo: Backpagepix
Image: Backpagepix
AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane said his team lacked composure and were not clinical enough to seize the plethora of chances they created against Golden Arrows on Wednesday night.
Usuthu could have gone into the second half at least 4–0 up, but managed only a single goal, which they were forced to defend after half-time at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
The intensity of the match, however, was exceptional from both teams from start to finish. It was only the final touches and occasional poor decision-making that let AmaZulu down, especially in front of goal — a complete 180 from the finishing on display during their 5–1 victory over Chippa United this past weekend.
Zwane is still dreaming of a Top 3 finish, with Wednesday's single point placing them within reach of continental football next season, but managing without a consistent starting forward has been a challenge.
“We missed a good few chances in-front of goal with (Mondli) Mbanjwa," Zwane said. "I don't know what (Thapelo) Mathloko was trying to do when they passed us the ball.
"I cannot blame them and be a sore loser. I am disappointed because this feels like a loss to us, but I'm still proud of the team
“We took our chances against Chippa in the last game and (Wednesday night), we should have scored at least three goals because we are a good scoring team. We are a team that knows how to create scoring opportunities, but our only downfall this season has been failing to take those opportunities.
“Losing (Thadolwenkosi) Ngwenya has been a big blow to us because he started the season like a house on fire, but the injuries hampered his progress,” Zwane continued.
"And now we are kind of relying too much on Athini (Maqokolo), while Mathloko is coming off a very long injury. You can see he is dying out there, so we don't really have any strikers who can play 90 minutes at the moment
Jehran Naidoo is sports reporter for Independent Media and social media coordinator of the our YouTube channel The Clutch.