Martin: AmaZulu must raise heads for Moroka Swallows ‘final’

AmaZulu head coach Pablo Franco Martin has hailed Mamelodi Sundowns as the best team in Africa after suffering a heavy defeat at Loftus Versfeld.

Usuthu were on the wrong end of a Lucas Ribeiro hat-trick and an utterly dominant Brazilians performance in a 3-0 drubbing on Tuesday night.

The defending DStv Premiership champions returned to winning ways after three successive league draws, and stretched their lead at the top to 12 points after 16 games played.

A battered Usuthu just could not cope with the quality and intensity of the hosts and were restricted to just one shot on target for the entire 90 minutes.

In contrast to AmaZulu’s 23% ball possession in the game, Sundowns were imperious, at the 77% mark, and enjoyed 14 goal attempts, with seven of them on target.

The visitors had held their nerve and defended diligently until the second stanza, with Ribeiro only flexing his muscles in the 48th minute.

In December, Martin was left enraged in the first-round encounter between the two sides as his team were denied a legitimate goal. The Spanish-born coach suggested Sundowns’ marginal victory was handed to them by poor officiating on the day.

However, this time “Cijimpi” admitted that his team had lost to a far superior adversary on the night.

“No, we were not unlucky today. We played against the best team in Africa, and the quality of the opposition in the way they play and the capacity they have to find spaces to take advantage of – and more especially their finishing – is what decides the games more often than not,” Martin said.

Usuthu are in ninth place in the Premiership, but remain in the hunt for a potential fourth-place finish.

They will have an opportunity to avoid a third successive league defeat when they roll out the carpet for the visiting Moroka Swallows next Tuesday.

Usuthu have demonstrated stubbornness in defence under Martin, and have registered nine clean sheets in their 17 outings in the league.

The 43-year-old coach remained positive about his side’s progress even in defeat, and expressed his delight at his team’s growth in recent months.

The former Simba AC mentor also expressed the importance of his side moving past their result against Sundowns, with another league fixture on the horizon.

“On the other hand, I think we’re improving because we’re trying to be the team we used to be. I think defensively we did a good job the first 50 minutes,” he said.

“The feeling that the team is also growing is also there, and now we have a ‘final’ against Moroka Swallows next Tuesday.

“This is our objective and this is our target, so we have to raise our heads and be ready for that day, because it must be a win for us and no other result.”