TP Mazembe match was ‘turning point’ for Matsatsantsa in Africa

SUPERSPORT UNITED’S belief that they could go all the way in the Caf Confederation Cup was affirmed by their creditable 2-2 draw with defending champions TP Mazembe in the group stages of the competition three months ago, captain Dean Furman said yesterday.

“People know we relish the big challenges,” quipped the skipper ahead of their first leg semi-final clash at home against Tunisia’s Club Africain on Sunday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.

“We arrived there (in Lubumbashi) to face a top club in the continent (TP Mazembe) and came from two goals down to get a point. I think that was the turning point for us. That is when we believed that we could go all the way.”

SuperSport had shown great fight to match Mazembe in front of their hostile home crowd, and Furman and his teammates were cheered off the pitch at fulltime. “We knew then we were good enough,” Furman said. Even when it looked like they had blown their chance of reaching the last four of the Cup when they were trailing Zesco United in Zambia last weekend, Thuso Phala popped up with virtually the last kick of the game to hammer home a crucial away goal to book a date with Club Africain.

Furman said the arduous trips during the preliminary and group stages of the tournament had also played a role in turning SuperSport into such an efficient outfit.

“I believe it is true that we have some sort of telepathy now,” he said. “The average footballer comes to training and then goes home, but we have had to spend time with each other both on and off the pitch. We got to know each other socially as well, and this has created a bond. You can see that we fight for each other. There was an incident against Horoya (in Conakry, Guinea), and I don’t think we would be here today if we didn’t stand for each other the way we did. What this tournament has done for us as a team is quite remarkable.

“We certainly don’t want it to end here. It is a plus also to have coach Eric Tinkler with his experience both as an ex-player and someone who reached the final of this competition as a coach with Orlando Pirates. He has stressed the importance of winning our home games because once you are away it is quite unpredictable. But for us as players, we have to make sure we take whatever is thrown at us and we implement the coach’s tactics.”