Wounded AmaZulu eye Pirates’ scalp

AmaZulu coach Arthur Zwane wants his side to bounce back by beating Orlando Pirates in the league at Kings Park Stadium on Wednesday after losing their MTN8 quarterfinal 4-3 in extra-time against Sekhukhune United at Chatsworth Stadium over the weekend.

“Now we have Pirates, we’ve got to redeem ourselves. It’s not going to be an easy one, especially after they won their game [2-1 in the MTN8 quarterfinals at home to Durban City on Saturday]. We have to make sure that we recover properly … the players must drink a lot of water to make sure they recover well,” Zwane said.

The AmaZulu coach didn’t hold back, blasting his troops’ defending against Babina Noko, who scored twice in quick succession to take a 3-1 lead before Usuthu fought back to level.

“Second half, I’ve never seen such horrible defending from my side,” Zwane lamented .

Zwane was particularly frustrated by the way in which Ellis Ramala was allowed to slice through and score Sekhukhune’s third goal.

“When we had three other defenders on him [Ramala], I told them he is left-footed, force him to go to his right, don’t allow him to go inside,” Zwane said.

Vuyo Letlapa scored Sekhukhune’s winner early in extra-time when the game was looking to be destined for penalties.

Thandolwethu Ngwena scored a brace for Usuthu, while Taariq Fielies was also on target for the Durban side. Tshepo Mokoane and Given Khupe were the scorers of Babina Nako’s other goals.