Ajax players reminded Mobara that Ronaldo also misses penalties
after finishing in fifth spot on the Premiership standings, a huge improvement from the previous three years, which had seen the club flirting with relegation after 12th, 14th and ninth-placed endings.
The season was nearly crowned in perfect fashion with glory in the Nedbank Cup, but it was not to be as the width of the crossbar saw the trophy heading back to Pretoria with Mamelodi Sundowns rather than being transported to the Mother City.
“The defeat was difficult to take after we came so close in the penalty shoot-out and had the chance to win it,” said Graham yesterday.
“But I’m still very proud of the performance and effort everyone put in. It was my first final, and a first final for many of the players, and in that respect it was a great experience. I’ll take a lot of memories from it, including the atmosphere and the fantastic support we had – the Ajax fans were amazing and we really appreciated the large numbers that had travelled up by bus.”
Graham said the team had rallied behind Abbubaker Mobara after he had missed a vital penalty.
“It was a tough situation afterwards, and you feel for those players that missed their kicks – there was huge responsibility on a lot of young shoulders. Especially a young player like Barra. As teammates we did our best to keep his head up after the game, giving him examples of how even the top players like Cristiano Ronaldo sometimes miss vital penalties.”
In terms of the season overall, Graham said: “I think it was a very good season for the club. Roger has done a great job – people had been putting us down at the beginning of the season and saying that our inexperience would make us relegation candidates. But with the right mental and physical planning, we have proved the critics wrong.
“Hopefully we can keep the core of the squad together, add a few new players and then challenge for silverware again next season – we’ve had the taste of what a cup final is about, and we want to get back there as quickly as possible!