Dladla upbeat despite another defeat for Swallows

Swallows FC acting head coach Simo Dladla put a brave face on his side’s 3-0 DStv Premiership loss to Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday but they are a team quickly slipping into crisis.

The defeat follows a 4-0 loss to Cape Town City in their MTN8 semifinal, second leg, fixture on Wednesday and the team have now gone six full games without finding the back of the net.

Despite this, Dladla felt there were positives to pull out of Sunday’s latest loss.

"We had a plan and I still have a feeling that the plan worked," Dladla said. "We wanted to close them down, close the spaces. We wanted to allow their centre-backs to play a little because we couldn't open up the middle of the park with the quality that they have.

"When we conceded the first goal it was one of those moments I told the guys to avoid. Playing where we just won the ball because they will come pressing. We know they press when they lose the ball.

“I spoke about breaking the first press. And then it led to the corner and then that led to a goal. It was disappointing to concede a goal like that especially when you have a plan in place that needs to be respected. The second goal I thought on the balance of play in the first half we created more chances than them.

"We were good on 1v 1s and on the break. Maybe three times we could have scored with better quality but it wasn't to be. Second half I told the guys not to lose the structure because the structure was working well.

"Until the second goal we were doing really well. Kamo Mahlatsi was fouled in the build-up so the players stopped a little bit, they thought the ref was going to give it and then the combination play they got the second goal.

"With the third goal, it's another cross. A loose bit of marking in the box. [Peter] Shalulile was alone there. And those are the things that we need to work on going forward. In terms of chances I feel hard done by. I feel we deserved a goal or two in this game.

"I know there's going to be some soul searching everywhere, from management to the technical team, to the playing staff. I know the international break will be used well by everyone.

“There are lots of positives to be taken out of this game. If you look at the other games we didn't create as many chances as today.”