AmaZulu FC head coach Arthur Zwane has rued costly turnovers and lapses in concentration that cost his side in their clash with Stellenbosch FC on Sunday.
Usuthu were narrowly defeated 3-2 by Stellies in the 3-2 MTN8 quarter-final match played at the DHL Cape Town Stadium, in what was the first competitive game of the 2025/26 season for both teams.
“We always knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy one playing against a well-oiled Stellenbosch team,” Zwane said.
“But we had to allow them to have the ball in areas where we knew they would not hurt us. I think we did tremendously well. At some point, you could see their frustration.”
The five-goal thriller saw new signing Keagan Allan hand Usuthu the lead and exciting youngster Tebogo Mashigo grabbed the KwaZulu-Natal giants’ second goal.
“The problem we had was that whenever we had turnovers, we actually lost the ball cheaply. The goal that they scored comes from those moments I just mentioned,” Zwane added.
“I still believe that we showed them respect at some point, but whenever we imposed ourselves, we also put them under pressure.”
AmaZulu have turned their attention to their first Betway Premiership match of the season, which is against top-flight newcomers, Orbit College, on Saturday, August 9.
The match is scheduled to be played at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban. Kick-off is at 15h00.
