Polokwane City cannot take their third placed position in the league for granted and will have to sharpen up if they are to keep up their surprise position in the Betway Premiership standings, coach Phuti Mehafe said.
His warning came after Stellenbosch beat Polokwane City 2-0 in Thursday’s Nedbank Cup second round tie at the Danie Craven Stadium, outplaying the visitors and unfortunate not to lose by more goals.
“I can't really figure what was happening, but I think the mentality was not right in the first 20 minutes,” said Mehafe of his team’s performance.
“But maybe we were waiting to concede before could wake up. It was not a performance for a team of our calibre.
“I wish you were in the dressing room and you heard what I told them, that if we think that No 3 sport is the one that is making us to play like this, then we must just forget about maintaining our position, because we are going to lose matches and we will end up fighting for a top eight, not the top three spot.
Maybe that is what changed their attitude going into the second half. We are still a team that wants to achieve more. We deserve to be at No 3 yes, but we have to still work hard to maintain the position.”
Stellenbosch were ahead after an unfortunate own goal from Polokwane City skipper Bulelani Nikani in the 12th minute and only some last gasp defending and sharp saves from Manuel Sapunga kept the score down to 2-0 at the break, as Devon Titus added a second in the 37th minute.
“It was a rough moment in the kitchen! The first 20 minutes we would like to forget, because in that 20 minutes we were just chasing shadows. We lost the ball in the wrong areas and we got punished. When we had the ball we gave it to the opponent.
"So it was just a hell of the first 15 -20 minutes and we needed from that to try and recover, try and regain our confidence. But we were always second best up until they scored their second goal. That is when we gathered momentum, and we started to show ourselves.
"But the damage was already done, even if we came back rejuvenated and with the full tanks and started to play the way we play.”
Polokwane City can now concentrate on trying to better their highest ever league finish of fifth in the 2018-19 season. They are up against struggling Magesi in a local derby next Tuesday.
“Our target was to be in the top eight. So, if the opportunity arises for us to be at No 3 until the end of the season, and you compete in Africa, then let it be. Why not?
"So, if we have that opportunity then we will take it with both hands. But we must also look at the teams that are coming behind us. They are coming with force. For us to be there is not only maintenance, but we must also win our matches. We must also show that we want to be there.”