Johnson praises players' resilience

Cavin Johnson says his players and backroom staff deserve all the credit for Saturday's win. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix

Cavin Johnson says his players and backroom staff deserve all the credit for Saturday's win. Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/ BackpagePix

Published Mar 20, 2017

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RUSTENBURG – Platinum Stars coach Cavin Johnson says his players and backroom staff deserve all of the credit for Saturday's CAF Confederation Cup over Ugandan club Vipers.

Stars went into the fixture trailing 1-0 on aggregate after losing the first leg, but won Saturday's match at the at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium 3-1 to advance to the next round of the competition with a 3-2 aggregate win.

“Credit must go to the players for trying their utmost. To go to the next round, the players are excited. I think the club should be proud of the players. Most importantly we should be proud of our backroom staff as well," Johnson said of the result.

"To get where we are, it was also things behind the football because we have been playing three competitions – Nedbank Cup, PSL, and CAF. To have players that are fresh in the last two months, we have to give credit to the people that do work behind the scenes. We must also applaud the players who stick to the training regime outside and inside of football.”

Satrs beat Mozambican side Uniao Do Songo over two legs in their previous match in the competition. On Saturday, the levelled the aggregate score with just two minutes of play gone, when goalkeeper Mbongeni Mzimela scored from the penalty spot, after striker Benson Shilingo had been fouled in the Vipers penalty area.

Ndumiso Mabena scored the second goal, while Mzimela also scored the third from the penalty spot before Vipers hit back in the 55th minute.

Stars have recently made progress upwards in the ABSA Premiership and are also still in the Nedbank Cup.

“Sometimes you might train hard and the players don’t go to sleep and things like that. However all our players have been disciplined as far as our calendar is concerned. We are lucky because it also shows a change of fortune from 2016 to 2017. We are happy to be in the next round,” Johnson added.

Stars' next CAF Confederation Cup fixture has not yet been confirmed. 

African News Agency

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