McCarthy’s coaching debut pays off
BENNI McCarthy’s players and staff were laughing at his obvious nervousness before his coaching debut on Saturday – and the smiles continued afterwards as Cape Town City won to give the former Bafana Bafana marksman a winning start.
McCarthy’s maiden match as manager ended in a 1-0 victory over Polokwane City to book a place in next month’s MTN8 semifinal.
“I don’t think I’ve ever needed to go to the toilet as much as I did in the three hours before this game‚” McCarthy said afterwards.
“I’ve [never] been in situations like this before‚ so it was weird.
“Even the players were laughing at how nervous I was. The other coaches were saying: ‘Are you OK?’
“I’d go [to the toilet] and there would be nothing. It must have happened about five times! “I’m glad this one has gone. “Now it should come a bit more naturally.”
City might have won by a bigger margin had they not squandered several good chances in the match at the Cape Town Stadium.
“I wanted to just strap on my boots and get out there!
“But I don’t have a lot of complaints‚ we just need to finish opponents off‚ go for the jugular.
“We could have won by a bigger margin.
“I just wanted us to win but we were surprised by Polokwane’s way of playing. It only settled when we started playing our own way.
“But it was the first game of the season and there were a lot of nerves. I thought the players were a bit edgy too.
“In the end‚ we are all just happy to get over the line.”
McCarthy next faces a tough examination away at champions Bidvest Wits as they open the league campaign on Friday.
“They are not champions for nothing, with the best coach in the country. We have to take our Agame if we are going to get something out of the match.”
Meanwhile, SuperSport United booked their semifinal place with a 1-0 win over Kaizer Chiefs at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium, also on Saturday.
An early goal from Jeremy Brockie sealed the deal for Matsatsantsa at the venue where they lifted the Nedbank Cup title just months ago.
For Steve Komphela’s charges, it was an early blow in a season they hope will extinguish the anguish of the previous campaign.
Cape Town City caught the eye with a devastating counter-attack last season, and Eric Tinkler’s stamp of approval was evident within six minutes of his first competitive game as Matsatsantsa head coach.
The move was sparked from well within their own half by former Amakhosi man Reneilwe Letsholonyane, as SuperSport were destructive in transition, and after Bradley Grobler played in, Brockie the goal-poacher made no mistake.
The New Zealand international skipped past Lorenzo Gordinho before firing into the back of the net, 1-0 to the visitors.
Chiefs went in search of an immediate response and dominated the remainder of the half.
Siphiwe Tshabalala’s deflected effort cannoned off the woodwork with 23 minutes on the clock before Ronwen Williams showcased his class to keep Bernard Parker’s rocket out of the edge of the area in the 35th minute.
All their pressure in attack paid no dividends, though.
In the end, Chiefs were unlucky not to at least take the game into extra time, with SuperSport doing enough to join Bidvest Wits and Cape Town City in the next round. – Additional reporting by Supersport.com