Truter lauds Usuthu resilience after last-gasp win

Dan Ndhlovu of Baroka FC and Mxolisi Kunene of Amazulu during the DStv Premiership 2021/22 match between Baroka FC and AmaZulu held at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on 6 April 2022 © Philip Maeta/BackpagePix

AmaZulu FC interim head coach Brandon Truter praised the team for their resilience in earning a key victory over Baroka FC on Wednesday.

Luvuyo Memela scored in stoppage time to earn Usuthu a 1-0 victory over Bakgaga Ba Mphahlele in the DStv Premiership game at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane.

The win ended the KwaZulu-Natal giants’ five-match winless run across all competitions and it was also Truter’s first league game in charge of the team.

“I would like to give all glory to the man above and to the AmaZulu board for giving me this chance,” Truter said.

“For Baroka, it must be a blow in the gut to concede so late. We had to travel 35 hours and could not even train yesterday [April 5].

“I understand why team’s take a dip with the Champions League due to the amount of travel that they have to do.”

Usuthu are now back in the top eight on the DStv Premiership standings as they are occupying the seventh spot – four points behind sixth-placed Stellenbosch FC.

It was a match that saw Baroka pile pressure on AmaZulu, but the visitors stood firm at the back and Truter was happy to see his charges standing strong.

“I’m ecstatic with the win, but Baroka had their chances. Baroka are fighting for their lives to avoid relegation,” the former Swallows head coach added.

“They threw absolutely everything at us in the first half. The boys stood strong and we changed the midfield rotation in the second half which got us back into the game.

“The guys that we called on for duty did well and I can’t ask for anything more.”

AmaZulu will now take on Maritzburg United in the KwaZulu-Natal Derby clash at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on April 16.

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