Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids was left bitterly disappointed after his side got relegated from the DStv Premiership.
The Team of Choice had no choice but to beat Cape Town Spurs on Wednesday evening, but weren’t even able to create one shot on target as the Urban Warriors held on to a goalless draw.
As a consequence, Spurs became the first second-tier team to win the Premier Soccer League play-offs since Black Leopards in 2017/18, while Maritzburg have been relegated from the top flight for the first time since 2006/07.
Davids did not appear for post-match duties for the waiting media, but he expressed his unhappiness with his team’s performance in front of tv cameras after the final whistle.
“A really poor performance today. Not really able to hold our nerves, the occasion was too big,” he said on SuperSport TV.
“We could not play the way we wanted to play, we could not attack the way we wanted to attack. They really stood up to this atmosphere, to the supporters that came out, we couldn’t give them what needed to do.
“They were fighting, they fought for everything, they won every duel, second ball, fouls, credit to them. They won the fight and we were not here today.
“We were not able to get the ball in the right areas, to get the ball behind the defence line. They were just resolute and not enough chances create today.”
An extremely deflated Davids also sent a message of apology to the club’s supporters who had filled Harry Gwala Stadium.
“My apologies to the supporters from the entire squad. We let you down in a huge way, being bottom of the log the entire season. It’s just not good enough.”
