McCarthy praises effort from AmaZulu after draw

Benni McCarthy praised the effort of his players but admitted their form in front of goal is a concern after AmaZulu were held to a 0-0 draw by SuperSport United in their DStv Premiership clash on Tuesday.

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Both sides finished the game with 10 men, as McCarthy again bemoaned his unsuccessful search for a new striker in the last transfer window.

“We showed heart and determination with 10 men to stay in the game. We did not let them create one chance to win. I think that the fight we showed was superb and we even looked to win the game,” he said.

“Our lack of goalmouth action is a concern. Our players don’t seem to want to score goals. We create chances but are not scoring them. It’s a big problem. My biggest quest was to sign a striker and maybe it caused our current strikers to lose confidence because I said it publicly.

“We need an additional option to give us something different when we go to games. It’s not the best situation but we can’t complain about getting a point from the game.”

The AmaZulu coach was also not pleased with referee Thando Ndzandzeka, who he said had failed to control the game.

“The referee could not really control the game. It was one-way traffic with everything going in favour of one team. Our frustrations grew and tackles came flying in,” he said, suggesting the red card for midfielder Tercious Malepe was not deserved.

“I thought it was a clean challenge from Tercious as he won possession without touching the player. If that’s what the mentality of our players these days is, it makes them mediocre and average.

“He [SuperSport midfielder Jamie Webber] rolled over like his leg was broken when he was not touched. The referee fell for it. The fourth official saw it and was telling the referee which way to go when we committed a foul.”

AmaZulu now travel to Malawi for their CAF Champions League tie with Nyasa Big Bullets. They need to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the home leg.