Failure to protect leads is Maritzburg ’ s big downfall

MARITZBURG United were left to wonder again what exactly they need to do to cure the problem of giving away silly goals and turning imminent victory into defeat.

For the umpteenth time this season, the relegation-threatened club squandered a myriad golden chances in losing at the weekend, going into the lead against SuperSport United only to gift their opponents goals and end up losing and dropping vital points.

While the Maritzburg management scratched their heads after the game, SuperSport coach Stuart Baxter said the experience of the KwaZulu-Natal club was not unique in world football.

“It ’ s not only Maritzburg. If you go through every league in the world, games of football are won in the same way,” he said in a reference to a lack of concentration in defence that has bedevilled Maritzburg all season long.

“We call them critical phases; transitions, set plays and critical phases in the beginning of a game, the end of the first half, the beginning of the second half, whenever a goal is scored, whenever the game is stopped.

“That is why set plays are so dangerous because people switch off. It ’ s only human.”

Maritzburg ’ s biggest calamity came in January when they were 3-0 up at home to Orlando Pirates but ended up being held to a draw, but their malaise began already with their first game of the season when they led Kaizer Chiefs 2-0 at half time at Soccer City in the MTN8 quarterfinal but eventually lost 5-3 after extra time.

Maritzburg are next away at Pirates on Saturday.