Time against Baxter

SUPERSPORT United coach Stuart Baxter stopped short of admitting his team may have played itself out of the running for Premier League honours.

Having suffered a third consecutive defeat – after their 1-0 loss to defending PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday night – SuperSport have not won a league game since February 25, when they beat Highlands Park 1-0 in Thembisa.

“There are many ways of winning the championship and we were well in the race‚” Baxter said.

“I think we are on the fringes now. With the two wins against us‚ Sundowns have had a massive boost because they were slipping away.

“They were looking tired before the derbies and the adrenaline from the matches has done them good.

“They are resting this weekend and they could be in good shape‚” the Briton said.

“There are backdoors left‚ right and centre and we have to keep on making sure that if they slip up‚ we are right behind them.”

Baxter’s side were not the doormats of Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld, but once Sundowns found an extra gear‚ it was always going to be a case of when they were going to score, and not if.

SuperSport were lucky to escape two early chances from Percy Tau and Themba Zwane that would have ended the game in the first five minutes.

That they conceded a goal late in the game from a set-piece infuriated Baxter‚ given that he has tall timbers in his back four.

While he criticised the origin of the free kick‚ the goal should not have happened, he said.

“The free kick was not a free kick‚ it was an embarrassing decision, but you know when there is a set-play at a critical phase of a game‚ there is a high possibility of the ball ending in the back of the net,” Baxter said.

“We were not organised‚ didn’t get set quickly enough‚ didn’t defend our goal bravely enough – and we ended up losing from a set-play.

“We started playing with freedom after conceding and moved the ball quickly. I’m disappointed with how we conceded, but we worked very hard.” – TMG Digital

The free kick was not a free kick‚ it was an embarrassing decision . . .