AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane said a difference in quality proved his side undoing as they lost 2-0 to champions Mamelodi Sundowns in the Betway Premiership on Tuesday.
AmaZulu kept their hosts at bay until early in the second half at Loftus Versfeld but Iqraam Rayners scored and Sundowns followed up with a late second goal from Tashreeq Matthews to take al lthree points.
“You could see the difference was in quality of Sundowns and our quality as well, having young players that are still learning and trying to find their way up at this level,” said Zwane.
“So it was never going to be an easy, also away from home as well. I think we started off well. We had a plan, obviously, to allow Sundowns have the ball, wait for the right moment to exploit the space – because you can't play pound to pound with them in terms of the quality – or wait for the right moment as well.”
Zwane felt his side had clear cut chances and that they had Sundowns worried with the score goalless at halftime.
“You could see their frustration even from the bench. What was key for us was to make sure that we don't concede a goal in the first 20 minutes of the second half but then we did concede and were chasing shadows at some point.
“But again, I think we got back to our structure. We remembered what was working for us. And we got about two chances again that we could have taken. We should have gotten an equaliser, and even the winner, before they got their second goal.”
He conceded, however, that chasing down Sundowns sapped their energy.
“When you keep on defending, your energy levels drop at some point and you suffer lapses of concentration. The quality of Sundowns’ composure was the difference between us. We were always too hasty, you know, to get rid of the ball. Sometimes we just literally gave them the ball. They were not taking the ball from us, but just applying pressure and we lost the ball, we gave it away cheaply,” Zwane said.
🗣️🟢⚪️ Let's hear from Coach Arthur Zwane following our 2-0 loss at Loftus Versfeld last night 💬#BetwayPrem #HebeUsuthu #UsuthuTogether pic.twitter.com/FBtpEIS8sc
— AmaZulu FC (@AmaZuluFootball) August 13, 2025