The Mercury E-dition

Benni proud of AmaZulu following TP Mazembe triumph

ESHLIN VEDAN eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za

AMAZULU coach Benni McCarthy offered a rare glimpse into the softer side of his character after his team sensationally qualified for the Caf Champions League group stage at the expense of five-time winners TP Mazembe on Saturday.

After drawing the first leg of their second preliminary round clash with TP Mazembe 0-0 in Durban, the odds were firmly stacked against Usuthu. They overcame the odds, recording a 1-1 draw against their more decorated opponents at Stade TP Mazembe in Lubumbashi, advancing on away goals.

“Today, I saw heart and personality and arrogance from my team. I saw a group of players that were not afraid mentally. On the eve of the game, we had negative Covid-19 tests before our key defender Tapelo Xoki was unlucky. We launched a complaint before and he was allowed to play 10 minutes before kickoff. For our team to go through a lot and still better Mazembe was incredible. It was also the first time we played on astroturf. These players will go down in history for what they did today, beating the five-time champions of Africa,” said McCarthy.

AmaZulu were helped by tactics, confidence, Keagan Buchanan’s testing free-kicks and a masterclass performance from goalkeeper Veli Mothwa.

Mothwa pulled off some spectacular saves, which frustrated the hosts. Buchanan’s set-pieces proved to be a problem for TP Mazembe’s defence and led to AmaZulu’s first half goal as Bongi Ntuli scored on the rebound following a Buchanan freekick.

A shell-shocked TP Mazembe made some attacking reinforcements in the second half, but this backfired as it diminished the quality of their defence which led to possession being more equally distributed in the second half and AmaZulu nearly scoring twice through Luvuyo Memela.

McCarthy offered insights into why he rarely praises his players and adopts a “tough-love” approach towards his coaching philosophy.

“Sometimes I’m a tough coach and a tough father figure, but this is because I want the best for my players. I think they need to be more focused and concentrated because you cannot have the quality that we have and then be mediocre. When I’m critical of my team, it is because I don’t want them to lower their standards. I want them to realise that they have a short career and must make the most of it,” he said.

There is no doubt that AmaZulu’s triumph over TP Mazembe has to go down as arguably their greatest achievement in the PSL era and one of the greatest in McCarthy’s still relatively young coaching career.

SPORT

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2021-10-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://themercury.pressreader.com/article/281947431056228

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