MARITZBURG United coach Fadlu Davids may have been on the losing side in the Team of Choice’s 1-0 defeat to Free State Stars in the Nedbank Cup final on Saturday, but he believes the future is bright for his team.
Speaking about the defeat, Davids was a little subdued and clearly felt sorry for his players, who had worked hard throughout the season only to falter at the last hurdle.
“It has been a phenomenal season,” Davids said.
“We needed to improve on last season – we wanted a top six finish in the league and to win a cup final. We are looking at the bigger picture and I can say that we are ahead of schedule. We did not expect to achieve so much so early.
“The future is looking very bright, we have been punching above our weight and we’re succeeding,” he added.
United can feel a little hard done by some of the decisions from referee Victor Hlungwani that went against them.
There was a penalty call that was dismissed after a Stars defender handled the ball inside the 18-area. His players were also on the receiving end of a couple of harsh decisions by officials.
“We can talk about the officiating but it won’t change. Stars deserve it because they’re more experienced.
“We have to win matches even when decisions go against us – that’s a sign of a strong team. But I am very proud of the players. We lose as a team and from the first match of the season, they gave their all.
“They are sad, they’re down because they wanted to win. We cannot stop now, we must take the next step and not start next season on a negative note,” he added.
Davids added that they used a 3-4-3 formation during the match because of their strength in midfield. He added, however, that it did not work on the day.
He also said there was some tension in their passing of the ball and that their distribution was not fluid enough.
