Durban - AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy slammed the finishing of his side after they played out to a 0-0 draw with struggling TS Galaxy at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Tuesday night.
Despite dominating possession, Usuthu were unable to breach the backline of the Rockets. The result was their 13th draw of the season.
“We were not clinical enough. We started well and dominated the game, making the opposition make a lot of mistakes. The high press worked well. A lack of conviction was the biggest problem for us,” said McCarthy.
Usuthu new signing Abraham Majok was guilty of missing a sitter on the stroke of half-time. All he needed to do was tuck the ball in with his head but the former Australia U-23 international ended up missing the ball completely.
In addition to misfiring in front of goal, Usuthu were also prone to defensive errors in the game. Just before half-time, Tapelo Xoki lost the ball to Orebotse Mongae in a crucial area. The latter was one on one with AmaZulu keeper Veli Mothwa but he ended up wasting the opportunity to give TS Galaxy the lead.
“Majok had two or three really good chances. Xola Mlambo had a chance. We also made crucial mistakes once or twice, allowing them one-on-one with the keeper but luckily the quality of finishing in the game was not up to standard. They also missed a few golden chances,” said the 44-year-old.
The result left McCarthy’s troops in seventh position. They are three points adrift of second place Orlando Pirates, albeit having played a game more.
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AmaZulu’s next game is a home Champions League clash against ES Setif. McCarthy knows that his team will have to improve on their finishing in front of goal if they want to down the Algerian side.
“A 13th draw is not pleasant or ideal. It is not what I would want especially after such a good game last week Friday in the Champions League against Horoya.
“This game could have put us nicely in third place. We don’t want to get dragged into the dogfight in the middle for MTN qualification.
“But it was not to be. We now have to concentrate on Friday and the Champions League when we play at home to ES Setief," said McCarthy.
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