We struggled to deal with Anas: Ncikazi
GOLDEN Arrows coach Mandla Ncikazi conceded that his side struggled to deal with the threat posed by Black Leopards attacker Mohammed Anas in their 2-1 defeat against Lidoda Duvha at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium in Clermont on Tuesday night.
A brace from the Ghanaian consigned the KwaZulu-Natal club to only their second league defeat of the season. It appeared to be a night of bad luck for Abafana Besthende. Firstly, they were forced to change their tactical plans early on following an injury to Nkosinathi Sibisi and then there was the blow of Pule Mmodi being shown a questionable red card on his 28th birthday. To cap it all off, they also conceded the winning goal in stoppage time.
“It was a bad result. Losing Sibisi early on and replacing him with Gladwin Shitolo forced us to change our plans. We still struggled to deal with the long balls played to Anas. He was doing well for them and we could not play from the back. If you have so many challenges, you cannot build from the back. We never recovered from Sibisi’s exit. I’m happy to hear that he is recovering well. We came back better in the second half and had a red card to Mmodi. I’m not sure what happened.
“When you are one man down, you are not sure whether you should consolidate for a draw or try and win. This should be a lesson to us,” said Ncikazi, whose side were crowned as Q-Innovation quarter two winners earlier this week.
The result left Arrows in fourth place in the standings with 28 points from 16 games. They are now eight points adrift of league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns but remain firmly on track to clinch a top eight finish considering that they are eight points clear of eighth-placed Baroka FC.
Meanwhile, the result would have been a massive morale-booster for Leopards as it ended a run of six consecutive league defeats, whilst also usurping Maritzburg United and moving out of last place on the log.
Arrows’ next test will be a clash with Baroka at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Wednesday.