Phakaaathi.co.za United: Africain loom large
PHALA: GOAL HERO TALK OF THE TOWN
Lucas Moripe the venue for first leg of Caf semifinal.
Coach Eric Tinkler was understandably delighted after striker Thuso Phala’s lastgasp equaliser sent SuperSport United into the Caf Confederation Cup semifinals on Saturday night.
Phala struck both of Matsatsantsa’s goals in the quarterfinal, second-leg clash against Zambia’s Zesco United in Ndola, his second equaliser coming in stoppage time as SuperSport drew 2-2, making it into the last four on the away goals rule following a goalless draw in the first leg at home in Tshwane a week or so earlier.
Matsatsantsa will now face Tunisia’s Club Africain in the semifinals, with the first-leg scheduled for Saturday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.
This means the Premier Soccer League will have to postpone SuperSport’s Absa Premiership encounter at home to AmaZulu, originally also scheduled for Saturday.
“We are delighted to go through to the next round,” Tinkler told reporters after the match.
“Zesco are an experienced side on the continent, they play year in and year out. It was always going to be a tough ask for us to get a positive result,” he added.
Tinkler said playing to a goalless draw at home in the first leg worked towards their advantage as they always only needed a score draw in Ndola to tilt the match in their favour.
“I planned the whole week and talked to the squad explaining what was important was that we should not be afraid to concede because if we score we are back in the tie and we managed to get the equaliser.
“We knew that we needed to score and I explained to the players that we had 90 minutes to achieve that, irrespective of whether we conceded or not,” he said.
Tinkler continued: “When you play in a competition such as this, what is more important is what you do away from home rather than what you do at home. If your team can get a score draw away from home then that is just fantastic.
“The boys continued believing and showed character all the way to the death and we got the equaliser right in the end. Looking at the match overall, it was a good match and an entertaining match for the spectators, but obviously not for us as coaches.
“I believe that because of the work ethic that we showed we deserve to go through.”