Coach feels Lady Luck failed to come to Bucks party
MTHATHA Bucks coach Duncan Lechesa says with a little bit of more luck, they could have made it into the last 16 teams vying for the lucrative Nedbank Cup.
This after Amathol’amnyama played a 2-all draw against AmaZulu in 120 minutes after their cup competition clash went to extra-time, with Usuthu winning 3-0 on penalties at King Zwelithini Stadium on Wednesday evening.
“Like I said earlier on I needed about five games for the boys to understand what I wanted them to do on the pitch and now they are really starting to relax and getting what I’m trying to do with them,” said Lechesa.
“This team doesn’t deserve to be where it is on the logstandings, but now at least we have everyone back from injuries.
“We have Kangwa [Chileshe] back and it shows that we have a strong bench now.”
Lechesa applauded his boys for taking the game to Usuthu and said they just needed “a bit of luck” to make it through the next stage.
“This was a build-up for our ten last games in the league, and I think this was a good preparation for the remaining matches and I think you even saw the readiness of our last changes during that game.
“The fighting spirit has been lacking in the team, but that has changed drastically – the boys are really fighting now.
“We have been unfortunate, but during that game were rewarded and now again it’s just a matter of scoring first now. You don’t concede first then you under pressure of coming back into the game.
“But the good thing is we are scoring goals whether we are playing 120 minutes, good football with intensity.”
Bucks mentor said the commitment his players displayed in every game was laudable.
“We just need to take our performance into the league now and make sure that this doesn’t go to the players heads that they are doing well.
“They should remain focused and calm at all times and I’m glad they feel relieved – and I can tell that they are happy with what they are giving in the field of play.”
The former Free State Stars striker said he was not happy about the loss but he was definitely satisfied with performance put out by the likes of Mashale Rantabane who scored their two goals. He said they deserved some time out to recuperate from their busy schedule.
“I’m happy about the commitment and the positives we took out of that game, the results would have came as a bonus.
“We have been on the road for the past five days now – we went to Venda [play an NFD match against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila where they lost 1-0].
“Monday morning we had to go to Durban for this Nedbank [Cup] game and we still have to travel home.
“So at least two days for the boys will be enough for them to recover so that when we return to training they are good to go.”
Amathol’amnyama will start preparing to host University of Pretoria (AmaTuks) at the Mthatha Stadium and Lechesa said they would soldier on knowing that their supporters will be present as always.