Johannesburg - Jomo Cosmos coach Jomo Sono says it may be a blessing in disguise that his team were knocked out of the Nedbank Cup by Orlando Pirates at the weekend.
Sono said: “In the first half Pirates were nervous. In the first 10 minutes we didn’t know what was happening. We were also very nervous. Pirates should have been 3-0 up in the first 10 minutes. In the second half we started doing well. Even after we scored we did well.
“We gave it our best but now we have to focus on the league. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise to be knocked out early, so we can focus on the league.”
Pirates’ two-goal hero Tendai Ndoro was keeping himself grounded after the win over Ezenkosi.
“This is a big team, we have national strikers and so it’s not easy. I have to keep working hard to make things happen. It’s not just about Tendai, even if I score, it’s down to the team effort.”
After probably the biggest upset of the weekend, Baroka FC coach Kgoloko Thobejane said he was proud of his side’s 2-0 victory over Golden Arrows, and believes the NFD club have a bright future ahead of them:
“What they did these boys, it shows that they are ready to play in the PSL. We want to conquer Africa and we want to win this cup and the NFD title as well. We are going to the PSL by winning our remaining matches - this time around I don’t see any team that will stop us.”
Meanwhile Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt was not totally satisfied, despite his side beating Magesi FC 6-0.
“We look short of a gallop. Some of our players, quite a few of them, certainly were way, way off where they should be. But it’s expected because they’ve been out for some time, some of them.
“We couldn’t get our passing going and then we scored two quickly, it’s understandable, but at the end of the day at least we got a little bit of mileage in the legs again and we’ll go on from next week.”
Magesi FC coach Jackie Ledwaba tried to find some positives for his Second Division side to take from the experience.
“If you can check, four of their goals were soft; our keeper went to sleep and our defenders somewhere, somehow they were sleeping. We’ll just tell them that, ‘no, it’s one of those games - we’ve learned a lesson’.
“We played against a bigger team, and Wits is a top team, make no mistake. We got something from this game; we’ve learned a lot, so it’s back to the drawing board and we’ll prepare for the play-offs.”
Sundowns winger Khama Billiat helped his side to a 3-1 win over Mbombela United, and says he finds inspiration from the fans: “I look at it positively. If people believe in me, I can do even better than I always do. It gives me courage to push to the limits.”
Finally Black Aces coach Muhsin Ertugral was for the most part pleased with the performance his side gave in a 2-0 win over Maritzburg United.
“The first 75 minutes was some of the best football we’ve played this season, it was really great. The biggest problem is generally looking to consolidate that situation.
“Then we scored, and that’s where our problem is - we could have scored a second one from a corner. The game is then over.”
African News Agency