AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy bemoaned his side's wastefulness in front of goal after their 2-0 CAF Champions League defeat to ES Setif in Algeria on Saturday.
Having beaten the Algerians two weeks ago, McCarthy’s side were not able to do the double in Algiers. It could have been a different story if Usuthu had taken their numerous chances and McCarthy was left to rue the missed opportunities after the final whistle.
“If you concede in the manner we did, not clearing the lines properly and allowing them to score just on the stroke of halftime, so yes, 2-0 for them and it looks more comfortable,” McCarthy told the media.
“The second half was much better, we started coming out and playing very offensive football. I think we could have scored one or two goals ourselves but you know the finishing has been a big problem for us this season, not just in the Caf competition but in the domestic league as well. Chances that any player, maybe a 15-year-old kid would probably score, we seem to miss them.
“When you do that you make life difficult for yourself because when the game is as tough as this when you get an opportunity you put it in the back of the net and the game can change just like that. But we missed very good chances and Setif just saw the game out and unfortunately for us 2-0.
“In my opinion, Setif deserved the victory, they were the better of the two sides. I feel the chances we had, if we had scored the goals it would have been a completely different outcome. Congratulations to Setif.
“Now the group is completely wide open. Raja didn’t win so there is a chance for Horoya to win the next two matches and they can also contest.
“We play Raja next and we are at home, we are a bit solid and hopefully, we can win. It’s everything to play for Raja, for AmaZulu, for Setif.
“It’s a very open group now. No team is guaranteed that they can qualify. All the teams have two matches left each and if you win one or two or both matches you give yourself a good opportunity. But the result against Setif made things difficult for us but we believe in ourselves. We have good players, we have a very strong team.”
