Newly-appointed SuperSport United head coach Kaitano Tembo was obviously disappointed with his team’s 2-0 defeat to Cape Town City at the Cape Town Stadium on the opening day of the 2018-19 PSL season on Saturday. But, rather than dwell on the loss, he preferred to focus on the positives.
“It was the first game and we wanted to have a good start, we wanted to give a good performance,” said Tembo. “We created some good chances, but didn’t take it. In football, if you don’t take your chances, you can’t win. But, against City, we were also up against a good team, and they took their chances.
“I thought we weren’t effective in certain areas. We managed to get behind the City defence at times, but were let down by our decision-making. Overall, though, I’m happy, despite the defeat, and there are lots of positives to take from the game. We were unlucky at times, we were also unlucky with a penalty shout, and we got into areas where we could influence the game.”
Tembo, after serving as an assistant at SuperSport, was officially appointed as head coach last week.
“In this job, there is always pressure,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what game you play or where you are in the league, there is pressure. In this game of football, there’s always pressure. But I can take it…
“We are still looking to add players in certain positions in the team. We especially need more cover in defence. Overall, though, the aim this season is to be better and especially to be more comfortable with regard to our league position. We don’t want to be in a situation where we have to be fighting relegation.”
Next up for SuperSport will be AmaZulu in the league on Wednesday and then Orlando Pirates in the first round of the MTN8 on Saturday. Tembo made no secret of what he will be demanding from his players.
“I want us to be more adventurous,” he said. “We are at home against AmaZulu and we will be using fresh legs. Bradley (Grobler) has just come back after eight months out and he will need a rest. So James (Keene) and Fagri (Lakay) will come into contention – I thought when they came on in the second half against City, they gave us more energy.”