AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy praised his substitutes Sphesihle Maduna and Keegan Buchanan for rescuing a point for their team in their 2-all draw with Stellenbosch FC at the Danie Craven Stadium.
CAPE TOWN – AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy praised his substitutes Sphesihle Maduna and Keegan Buchanan for rescuing a point for their team in their 2-all draw with Stellenbosch FC at the Danie Craven Stadium.
Despite dominating the majority of the proceedings, the Usuthu found themselves trailing by two goals with less than 30 minutes remaining.
Maduna was the first to enter the fray when he replaced Xolani Mlambo in the 66th minute and made an immediate impact when he struck a fierce shot from outside the box that gave Stellenbosch goalkeeper Sage Stephens no chance as the ball bulged the back of the net just eight minutes after coming on to the field.
But it was Buchanan, who came on with just five minutes remaining, that delivered the crucial blow when he swung in a direct corner that left Stephens embarrassingly flapping in the howling wind.
FULLTIME | #DStvPrem
After a heated and technical encounter in Stellenbosch, Usuthu levels the game and walks away with a draw.
Stellenbosch Football Club 2️⃣ – 2️⃣ #AmaZuluFC#HebeUsuthu#UsuthuTogether pic.twitter.com/pyqdtqktYh
— AmaZulu FC (@AmaZuluFootball) November 20, 2021
“Credit to the substitutes that came on who took the fight to them. We said take long range shots because we might have joy because the wind was with us. We can use the wind and the speed of the ball with which it travels and it helped,” McCarthy said.
“I guess you have to be happy with getting one point instead of nothing in a game that you dominated. The players gave everything and put up a big fight.”
ALSO READ: Entertaining, but City and Sundowns fail to find back of the net
McCarthy, though, believed his team’s overall performance deserved all three points due to the manner in which they dominated Stellenbosch on their home patch, but will take the one point considering how matters eventually unfolded.
“After everything the way it turned out the players would probably be happy with the point they got from the comeback,” he said.
ALSO READ: Sekhukhune claim win over Royal AM in tight tussle
“But for me it was very disappointing. I think the way we played, the way we started the game, how we controlled, how we dominated from the first minute to the halftime whistle we could easily have been up three goals.
“But when you don’t take your chances that you are creating, it’s not smart against this opposition because of the speed that they have. They always going to have an opportunity because you not always going to play the perfect game.
“The second half we became a little open and a little desperate and two balls where we switched off and didn’t defend like the way we are supposed to defend and then they scored two goals.”
@ZaahierAdams
