AmaZulu coach Pablo Franco Martin says finishing a difficult first round of 2023/24 in the Premier Soccer League with 19 points should make the club happy.
Martin counted what they went through as a club, signing a striker Victorien Adebayor of Niger, who never arrived, with the club stating they will report the player to the world football body FIFA for breaking his contract.
Secondly, Martin said they have been on the wrong end of the sticks when it comes to referees, with a prime example when Usuthu was denied a clear goal against Mamelodi Sundowns this month when Hendrick Ekstein was clearly onside.
Thirdly, Martin, whose team was left emotionally crushed, saw the sad passing of Bongi Ntuli, who passed away in November after a short illness, leaving a gaping hole in the club.
Ntuli was the go-to guy at Usuthu, scoring 13 of the 20 goals that saw the club survive the relegation zone in the 2019/20 season, with president Sandile Zungu taking over the club’s ownership in the following season.
Usuthu ended the first round of this season with a 1-1 draw against Cape Town Spurs at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday night.
That is despite having thrown a proverbial kitchen sink at Ernst Middendorp’s side, especially in the second half, but they struggled to find the winner.
“We had many difficulties from the beginning – a player [Adebayor] signed a contract and never arrived,” said Martin.
“We had many problems with injuries. I think at some point we were robbed of decisions by referees, that’s a fact. The situation of Bongi Ntuli which [was] traumatic for all of us. We have been through many, many things.
“Despite all those situations, we are finishing with 19 points, I think it is something to be happy about. But not today because we should have finished with 21 points based on the kind of game that we had.”
AmaZulu ended the first round with 19 points, two short of equaling the best first half of the club’s history – which was achieved by Benni McCarthy, who collected 21 points in the 2020/21 season that rifled them on the backside to finish as the runners-up to Mamelodi Sundowns.
Orlando Pirates, coached by Martin’s compatriot Jose Riveiro, ended the first half of the campaign with the same amount of points last season before finishing as the runners-up to the same Sundowns.
“19 points [I think] is one of the best ones in the club, I don’t know if we equalised as one. Teams like Pirates last season got 19 points in the first half of the season,” reiterated Martin, whose side will start the second half of the season when they host Royal AM at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday (17:45).
