Durban — AmaZulu’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stages of the CAF Champions League were dealt a blow after they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the Stade du 5 Jiullet in Algeria on Saturday night.
Speaking after the game, Usuthu’s coach Benni McCarthy conceded that his side allowed Setif to press them.
“It was a nervy start for us. Setif started well and pressed us high. They wanted to get the early goal so that they could settle well into the game. We complied and allowed them to press us. After that, we controlled a bit of the game,” said McCarthy.
McCarthy has echoed his frustrations with the state of refereeing in the South African Premiership several times this season. He once again felt that his side were hard done by in the game by the referees.
“I felt that the referee could have handled the game a bit more professionally. There was a bit of bias against us in my opinion. They got away with some fouls and he was very quick to give out cards against our players. When you are on a yellow card, you play more nervously and make mistakes,” said McCarthy.
The result leaves both AmaZulu and Setif on six points. However, Setif did leapfrog the Durban based club into second spot in Group B by virtue of having a superior goal difference. Continental giants Raja Casablanca are first in the group with nine points.
McCarthy did also concede that finishing in front of goal has been a problem for his side this season. They have struggled to win games this term. This is also evident by the fact that they have played out to 14 draws in the Premiership this season, which is the most out of any team in the top-flight. They have also won just five league games to date this season.
“Finishing has been a problem for us this season in both the Champions League and Premiership. We are missing chances that a 15-year-old kid would score. When you do that, you make life difficult for yourself. In a game as tough as this, you must put the ball in the back of the net. It can change it. In my opinion, they deserved the win. They played better. With the chances we created, we could have had a different outcome if we scored,” said McCarthy.
Usuthu next hosts Raja in another Champions League game at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Friday night.
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