Durban - Royal AM coach John Maduka admitted that his side was not at their best following their 0-0 Durban derby stalemate against AmaZulu at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The result took Maduka’s side to second place in the log, behind only runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns.
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However, Usuthu did dominate possession in the game with Andre De Jong nearly breaching the Royal AM goal line on a number of occasions, only to be denied by a masterclass goalkeeping performance from Maduka’s goalkeeper Patrick Nyame.
“We were not ourselves today. Defensively we did well and kept the clean sheet but we were not good enough in the midfield and going forward. A number of players had off days,” said Maduka.
“When 5-6 players have an off day at once, it becomes difficult to win a game. Every time that we were in possession, we struggled to string 5-6 passes together. We did not take any shots at goal. How can we score if we don’t take shots?”
ALSO READ: Benni McCarthy says ’AmaZulu let it up’ in the wet against Royal AM
Royal AM have been one of the surprise packages in the league this season. They are second in the standings despite currently being in their maiden Premiership campaign.
Thembela Sikhakhane did everything right but find the back of the net 🤦♂️
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) December 4, 2021
FT | AmaZulu 0-0 Royal AM#DStvPrem pic.twitter.com/8pYOnkWjgy
Maduka’s team will next travel to Gauteng to play in a top-of-the-table clash against pole position sitters Sundowns at Loftus Versfeld on Wednesday afternoon.
Given that Royal AM are only above Kaizer Chiefs and fourth place Stellenbosch FC on goal difference, they will likely have to avoid defeat against Sundowns if they want to retain second place after the next round of fixtures.
@eshlinv