DURBAN - AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy says there has been a mindset shift at his club following their hard-fought 1-0 win over arch-rivals Golden Arrows at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont on Saturday afternoon.
The result took Usuthu to 50 points, the first time that they have reached the milestone in the PSL era.
“AmaZulu of late do the talking on the field, not in the press conference. I can’t be any more proud of this group of players. They have proven themselves to be equipped, hard-working, having the drive, and are ambitious,” said McCarthy.
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To do what they are doing is exceptional. Some of them might be becoming AmaZulu legends because it will be hard for another set of players to do what they are doing,” said McCarthy.
The game lived up to its pre-match expectations and either side could have won it with a bit of luck on their side. In the end, Luvuyo Memela’s strike on the stroke of half-time proved to be the only goal of the game.
AmaZulu go two points clear at the top of the #DStvPrem with their 1-0 win over Arrows and look what it means to Benni McCarthy and his coaching staff 🥳 pic.twitter.com/RkfJ9QmwCB
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) May 1, 2021
Usuthu dominated the first hour of the game, to the extent that their goalkeeper Veli Mothwa was virtually anonymous in that time.
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However, the pendulum shifted in the latter stages with Usuthu hanging on for dear life. Usuthu had the exceptional goalkeeping of Mothwa and the post to thank for preserving their head. Mothwa made two key saves at the death whilst Knox Mutizwa of Arrows was also unlucky to see his header hit the post in the 88th minute.
“It was a tough game and the field did not help us because of the rain last night, causing the pitch to break up. We were not allowed to play the game that we wanted to. It was exceptionally hard controlling and playing. You had to go direct. In the first half, we were the best team. We were first to every ball and the combinations we put together. We used the width of the pitch and used the fullbacks higher up,” said McCarthy.
💚 "You don't often hear me say this, but I love those guys!"
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) May 1, 2021
Benni McCarthy reacts to AmaZulu going top of the #DStvPrem with their win against Arrows.
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McCarthy bemoaned the state of officiating in the game. Towards the end, Siyethembe Sithebe found himself in a one on one situation with Arrows goalkeeper Sifiso Mlungwana but was controversially judged to have been offside.
“The officials got in wrong. Sithebe broke through from the halfway line and he was through on goal and the officials ruled it offside. It was a criminal decision. Everyone makes mistakes. The referee and linesmen were firm. They made a mistake but it was never an offside,” said McCarthy.