Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies faced an early CAF Women’s Champions League exit on Saturday night and coach Jerry Tshabalala has pointed out several factors that hindered their performance in the tournament.
Sundowns Ladies were eliminated from the Champions League following their 2-1 loss to Edo Queens of Nigeria at the Stade Larbi Zaouli in Casablanca.
Banyana Ba Style blew a 1-0 lead in stoppage time as thr Nigerian side bounced back to score two late goals to seal place in thr semi-final of the competition.
In their group stage campaign, the Tshwane giants club finished in third place with one win and two losses, earning three points in Group B.
This means Tshabalala’s troops will be joining the University of the Western Cape [UWC Ladies] on a return flight back home. UWC Ladies were also knockout from the competition on Friday night following their 2-0 defeat to the hosts AS FAR.
WHAT COACH JERRY TSHABALALA SAID AFTER MAMELODI SUNDOWNS LADIES’ CHAMPIONS LEAGUE EXIT
Tshabalala stated that her team lacked the necessary motivation [hunger] in the tournament to demonstrate their desire to win as the defending champions.
“I don’t think we showed any hunger to say we wanted it more. If you come to a tournament and start on a negative note, it’s going to be a little bit difficult for us to bounce back,” said Tshabalala.
“But we tried to show character that we would come back in the second game and the third game, which wasn’t meant to be.
“I think this team fought for this game [Edo Queens] and gave their all, but we didn’t defend nicely as a team. Defensively, I think we were a little bit poor, but I don’t want to bash my girls. It was just not meant to be.”
Tshabalala continued: “They [Edo Queens] even had a penalty, which Andile [Dlamini] did well to save, and the opponent had another opportunity to score and hit the crossbar. I think it was not our day.”
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