Polokwane – Craig Roslee conducted one of the longest post-match team talks in the history of Moroka Swallows on Saturday night and emerged from the dressing room with an uncharacteristically huge smile on his face.
His side having given away what appeared a much-needed victory by conceding a last minute equaliser to SuperSport United at the Peter Mokaba Stadium, the Birds coach stayed locked in the changeroom with his team for close on an hour afterwards.
When he came out, walking side by side with club CEO Leon Prins, Rosslee oozed the air of a man who has just won the lottery – his elation belying the fact that he is in charge of a team perched at the basement of the 16-team Absa Premiership table with the season fast approaching its end.
“It was a fantastic performance,” he said. “We hadn’t played in three weeks when we went to Chippa (United on Wednesday) and we were unlucky to lose that match. Then we came off a flight from there to come here and play against a team that has been playing week in and week out and winning. We had the better chances although they got the goal late.”
While he would have loved his side to at least defend their lead until the end, Rosslee was very happy with his team’s overall effort. “The belief was there. In the first half we were outstanding, Siyabonga Nomvethe scored a great goal, and everyone was outstanding. I am happy that the will is there although the goals did not come.”
But he expressed contentment at having taken a point on the road. “It’s good we got the point. I am happy we got something from this match. We’re now on the same points with AmaZulu, so we’re still in the mix. And the key for us is to stay focused and remember that we have no control over what the other teams do.”
On Saturday night they would have done well to focus until the final whistle. But for some reason they switched off and allowed SuperSport captain Clayton Daniels to head in the goal that cancelled out Nomvethe’s fantastic strike from a tight angle.
Rosslee lamented the fact Mario Savic was off the field at that time. “He came off because of cramp. Cramp? During our time we used to get head injuries and just get patched up with Vaseline and returned to the field. Mario had been doing a fantastic job on Clayton and then he comes off at a crucial time and he scores,” said the former Hellenic star.
He challenged his team to save themselves from the relegation zone. “I am committed (to keeping Swallows in the elite league) and all I can do is motivate them to motivate themselves. I can’t feed them so they have to go out there and perform and I expect the bigger players to lead the way.”
Mich D’Avray believes Chippa United have what it takes to win all their remaining fixtures in the league in a bid to move away from the relegation zone, writes Mohau Ramashidja
Such a belief was sparked after Chippa held Wits to a goalless draw at Milpark at the weekend. This followed a 1-0 victory over Moroka Swallows in midweek. And now with four games remaining before the season ends, D’Avray is confident that they can win all of their upcoming fixtures. The caretaker coach stated that 32 points would be just about enough to see themselves saunter into the next season’s premiership campaign.
D’Avray also praised his side’s technical discipline in defence against the Clever Boys. The caretaker coach said that he was happy to have walked away with a point, as loss against Wits could have dented their hopes of doing well in their remaining fixtures.
“We are happy to have walked away with a point,” he said. “Wits are a quality side and we knew that we had to contain them, if we were to see ourselves salvage a point. And that’s what we did. We contained throughout and we are happy with how our side performed.”
Wits coach Gavin Hunt said he was disappointed on how his team played on the night and believes that they could have done better upfront to unlock the defence of their opponents. “I’m disappointed that we didn’t get the three points,” Hunt said. “Let’s be fair, they didn’t come here to win. They came here, and defended throughout the entire match.” - The Star