FOOTBALL NEWS - SuperSport United coach Eric Tinkler rued the countless scoring opportunities his charges had but remains optimistic ahead of the Caf Confederation Cup final second leg against TP Mazembe.
Matsatsantsa went down 2-1 to Mazembe in Lubumbashi on Sunday in a game they could have easily wrapped had they been more clinical in finishing.
Despite that, Tinkler said there were some positives from the first leg, which make the second leg even more interesting. A 2-1 defeat in the first leg may seem a tall order for some but not so for Tinkler and his charges. The Matsatsantsa boss believes that away goal, a cracker scored by Sipho Mbule, will give the home side a slight edge.
Taking a pass from captain Dean Furman, Mbule took advantage of retreating Mazembe defenders to unleash a sizzling long-range drive that flew past goalkeeper Ley Matampi.
The return leg will be played on Saturday night at Lucas Moripe Stadium. They have penciled the match down for a night kick-off – 8pm, knowing that their visitors do not like to play at night.
“Obviously, we came here to score and we managed to achieve that. I said to the players I’d rather leave here with a 2-1 loss than a 0-0 draw. It was very important for us to score that away goal especially against a team like TP Mazembe. They are a very experienced team and if you do not score here it becomes very difficult at home,” said Tinkler.
