Durban City coach Pitso Dladla hailed the character of his team after they overcame Lamontville Golden Arrows in the Nedbank Cup on Sunday despite playing down to 10 men.
“This team is built on a very strong character. All our games in the Nedbank Cup have been decided on penalties,” said Dladla after his side won 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in their quarterfinal tie in Umlazi.
“The players they fight, they graft, they work for each other. I think any coach would want that before considering talent.”
City were the last side to book a place in next month’s semifinals. Their win over Arrows followed penalty shootout success over Chippa United in the first round and Upington City in the second.
“I think it was a very, very tough game. Arrows are one of the teams that really can play the ball around, with highly gifted players.
"We knew that we were going to suffer but I think the plan went very well in the first 20 minutes, because we wanted to make sure that we didn't concede, setting the pressing traps and relying on counter-attack until we managed to score,” the City coach added.
Fezile Gcaba slammed home from close range to put City 1-0 ahead nine minutes before halftime.
“After that, the most important thing for us was to absorb pressure, but the players started to drop deep, we invited Arrows forward, we couldn't deal with the cross, and (Thokozani) Khumalo was left free in the box,” Dladla said of Arrows’ equaliser.
City then had Athini Jodwana sent off with 11 minutes left of regulation time.
“From there, to be honest, we're relying more on counter-attacks but zero came, really putting us under tremendous pressure.
“We had a feeling that taking the game to extra time, we could get something. I think penalties were more about mental confidence, because we were one man down, for sure, our confidence was higher than the opposition team, and then it happened like it happened. I think the experienced players played a huge role for us to win the game,” he concluded.