DURBAN - Maritzburg United parted ways with coach Eric Tinkler on Monday.
“It has been an extremely disappointing start to the season and the results have not been forthcoming,” Maritzburg Chairman Farook Kadodia said in a statement.
“The Board therefore took the decision to terminate the contract of the coach. We would like to wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”
The Team of Choice have endured a poor start to the season. They have lost all five of their competitive games in all competitions so far this term with the most recent defeat being a 1-0 loss to perennial strugglers Black Leopards in Limpopo on Saturday.
The KZN club is currently rooted to the bottom of the standings without a point.
Their poor form initially started in the bio-bubble last season after the league resumed in August following suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They drew three and lost three of their games in the bubble. Their form failed to pick up this season.
Tinkler was initially appointed as coach of Maritzburg United in January 2019, succeeding Turkish journeyman Muhsin Ertugral.
He helped the KZN club avoid relegation to the National First Division ahead of last season, as they successfully negotiated the promotion/relegation playoffs.
In addition to this, the Team of Choice reached the final of last season’s Telkom Knockout, losing 2-1 against Pitso Mosimane’s Sundowns side at the Moses Mabhida Stadium last December. It was a tightly contested game with Mauricio Affonso’s brace for Downs making the difference.
Maritzburg United part company with Eric Tinkler. https://t.co/cXeu3zG7Wt pic.twitter.com/IVmIKuJ560
— Maritzburg United FC (@MaritzburgUtd) November 23, 2020
The former Bafana Bafana star also helped the Team of Choice to secure entry into this season’s MTN 8 tournament as they finished seventh in the league last season. They subsequently lost their MTN 8 quarter-final clash against Kaizer Chiefs last month.
Kadodia indicated to Independent Media last week that the club was targeting a top eight finish this season. Maritzburg’s losses had so far come against Baroka FC, Cape Town City and Chippa United in addition to Leopards.
These are all teams that they would have expected to gain points against. The losses against the aforementioned quartet are likely to have a big impact on whether the club attains a top eight finish this season.
Maritzburg will next be in action against SuperSport United at the Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg on Friday.
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