Coaches reflect on Diski Group B final ties

The remaining eight teams will contest the MultiChoice Diski Challenge quarterfinals at the King Zwelithini Stadium in Umlazi, Durban.

Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns, Platinum Stars and Mpumalanga Black Aces progressed to the knockout round from Group B. They joined the other four sides from Group A, which are Bloemfontein Celtic, SuperSport United, Polokwane City and Univeristy of Pretoria.

While Pirates and Sundowns went into the final round having already qualified for the last eight, five of the other teams in the group were still with a chance to advance. The coaches reflect on the drama that took place on the final weekend.

Pirates, who topped the group with 15 points, faced Sundowns in a clash that was going to determine who finishes top. The Buccaneers were on fire as they won 4-0, with the goals coming from Thabo Rakhale, Menzi Masuku, Letsie Koapeng and Siphesihle Sangweni.

“There were two intentions for the players, to finish top of the group and to show that Pirates are taking every game seriously. And the players were very hungry to win the game. When we scored, we never relied on defending the goal, we wanted to score more goals. While we were structuring ourselves to be very aggressive and play attacking football – we did very well,” Pirates’ coach Augusto Palacios said.

“They also showed that whether it’s Sifiso Myeni, Jomo (Thabo Rakhale) or Khethokwakhe Masuku coming the team will still have a rhythm and composure to play. It’s very good, because we need the understanding between the development together with the players from the first team,“ he continued.

“We continue to surge forward, to finish top of the group was good because we led from the beginning. I think we did well in all the games. In the end we had the opportunity to play against Sundowns, who have a very good team. We said let’s play for two objectives, to win the game and to finish top of the group,” Palacios concluded.

'IT'S ABOUT PREPARATIONS'

The clash between Pirates and Sundowns was the only one that featured teams who both progressed to the next round. The Brazilians coach says the defeat was down to preparations as they encountered some difficulties.

“It’s about preparations, we took about seven hours to get to Kimberly. And on the day we just had mishaps, we were supposed to bring in Rodney Ramagalela but he had some problems. We then wanted some replacements, but because he got the problem in the morning on match day the players were already in camp, so we couldn’t get anybody,” Bapela explains.

“We also had Thela Ngobeni who was injured, we just had to fly him down so that he can be on the bench. Things were just not good for us on the day.

“And only to find a Pirates side that was really prepared and had a couple of first team players in the team, so it was tough for our young boys,” the club’s former midfield maestro added.

“NO PRESSURE”

Platinum Stars had to win their last match against Free State Stars, who were also still in contention, to ensure they get a place in the quarterfinals. They youngsters delivered as goals from Sabelo Tsambo and Kobamelo Kodisang gave them 1 2-1 victory.

“There was no pressure, we told them that they were not under pressure. They must just go out there and enjoy the game, play football. They know that they want to go further in the tournament, so we tried to take some of the pressure away from them,” coach Willem Jackson said.

“The youngsters need to be prepared in different ways mentally, we just told them they need to enjoy and play at the best of their ability. They went out and enjoyed the football, there was no pressure on them, we didn’t put them under any. They knew what was at stake and wanted to go further, it was all up to them,” the former Bafana Bafana coach concluded.

Aces also faced a must-win clash in their match against the already eliminated AmaZulu side. Goals from Bongolethu Jayiya and Dareen Lurie, which came late in the first half, and another from Dennis Masina helped them win 3-1.

“We told them that if they entertain any hopes of continuing to play in the Diski Challenge, they had to win the match. Because if they didn’t win we were not sure what was going to happen, maybe they could have had to settle for friendly games,” said their coach and the club’s former captain Lombi Mabusela.

Stars take on SuperSport United in the first quarterfinal while Pirates face Univeristy of Pretoria, both encounters are on Saturday.

On Sunday, Black Aces square off with Bloemfontein Celtic, before Sundowns play the final clash against Polokwane City.