Marumo Gallants caretaker coach Matome Mathiane has reflected on the costly error that saw them concede against Mamelodi Sundowns whilst chasing the game at 1-1 before their eventual 3-1 defeat.
Msindisi Kunene had the ball passed towards his feet whilst Gallants were on a counter attack and he attempted what can be described in South Africa circles as ‘kasi flava’ as he attempted to dribble the ball beyond his marker.
However, Teboho Mokoena, who came on as a half-time substitute and full of energy, showed his brute physicality to dispossess the 24-year-old winger and went on to find the back of the net, finishing off the move he started.
“It’s all about motivating the boy, he’s a young player, he’s from AmaZulu, they loaned him to us – so such things they do happen, you know in football, once you make a mistake they will punish you,” Mathiane said.
“It’s a game of mistakes – so as a coach, you have to take it [on the chin] but you need to talk to players, be strict on them – about such mistakes, you make a mistake, they take the ball and score against us and we were on a counter, going to attack them.
“So we made this mistake, they punished us and now we just go to the drawing board and support the boy. It’s football, if you make mistakes they punish you, so we need to work on this.”
The defeat leaves Gallants on 18 points, only ahead of the relegation play-off spot, occupied by ORBIT College by goal difference, while they are four points ahead of 16th placed Magesi – who have two games in hand.
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