Tinkler slams ‘poor’ refereeing decisions
The first half of the season has been, among other factors, characterised by poor officiating by referees. And SuperSport United coach Eric Tinkler was not a happy man after his side drew 1-1 with Bloemfontein Celtic at the Dr Molemela Stadium on Wednesday night.
Tinkler feels his side have been victims of poor decisions, as he also feels they were hard done by in their 3-1 loss to Baroka FC last Sunday.
“I thought it was a very good performance for us but definitely not a good performance by the referee and that is two games in a row now,” Tinkler said.
“We were supposed to get a penalty in the first half and we were definitely supposed to get a penalty against Baroka. We could be talking of a different result, but that is just the harsh reality. There were too many errors and we can’t have that at this professional level,” he lamented.
However, Tinkler was pleased to see Matsatsantsa finish the year on a decent note, with a good performance, as they have endured a wobbly run of form in recent games. SuperSport finished the year in 11th place in the Absa Premiership on 16 points, 12 behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, though they still have three games in hand over Masandawana.
“We are disappointed with the refereeing but I am very happy with the performance of the team. I think we made an error in terms of how we conceded the goal. We gave them too much space but we tried to rectify that at half-time and we got the equaliser,” he said.
“It has been quite a long season, the boys need to get that rest and celebrate with their families. It has been a hard 18 days with six games which is ludicrous.”
Youngster Darren Smith came off the bench to save the day in his first senior appearance, and hopes this result will be a step towards a turning point next year.
“It is not easy coming in and scoring on my debut and thanks to SuperSport for the opportunity. It feels amazing. It might seem like we are going through a slump right now but I am sure that when we come back in 2018 we’ll be a force and we will start afresh,” the 21-year-old said.