Bethlehem – Moroka Swallows’ coach Zeca Marques was unhappy with his side’s performance against Free State Stars after they threw away a 2-0 lead to lose the match 3-2 at Goble Park Stadium on Saturday.
The Dube Birds were leading 2-0 at the interval, courtesy of goals from Vladimir Mandic and Felix Obada, but Stars came back strongly to score three goals in the second half to win the match 3-2, with a brace by Abdul Basit and a goal from Moeketsi Sekola.
“We were leading 2-0. I told the players that this was the worst score in football, to be leading 2-0 at half-time,” Marques said.
“I thought we played well, but then we didn’t have options. We were really limited with options coming from the bench.”
Marques was particularly unhappy with the way his side defended, especially in the second half, as he felt they had conceded soft goals to lose the match.
“We conceded the first goal from really a difficult angle was almost impossible.
“It was a great goal ... but I think we should have done better with that situation.
“Then the second goal outside the box, again we failed to close players down. And you know at this level, if you make those types of mistakes you will pay the price.
“And Free State Stars keep on coming at you, they keep shooting. Overall I was happy with the first-half performance, but obviously you can’t be happy when you lose the game 3-2.”
Marques was forced to make seven changes from a team that lost 2-0 to Chippa United in their previous match with suspensions and injuries.
“It is difficult when you’ve got players that are suspended, players that you can’t use. We’ve got a small squad, but next week some of the players who are suspended will be back.
“It is difficult when you look at your bench, you’ve got to make changes that will change the game in a positive way, but you can’t make those changes and you are always on the back foot.”
Swallows are without a win in their last three matches and remain 11th on the Premiership log standings, while Stars move to sixth.
Meanwhile, Ea lla Koto coach Tom Saintfiet praised his side’s fighting spirit in coming back from 2-0 down to win the match 3-2.
“We did the same against SuperSport United a few weeks ago (after being 2-0 down at half-time),” Saintfiet said.
“I think in the first half we were not that bad. We had more opportunities in the first half, but our finishing was not so good.
“In the second half, I was quite angry and made changes. I demanded the same performance as we produced against SuperSport, and the boys did it quite well. I’m happy with the performance.” – Sapa