Tornado managed to secure a 1-0 win over Highbury when the two sides met during an ABC Motsepe League encounter at the North End Stadium at the weekend.
The hard-fought win elevated the Mdantsane-based outfit to 37 points – keeping the No1 spot on the log standings and marking their record of 12 wins this season, while Highbury recorded their sixth loss to remain eighth on the log with 16 points.
Even though that was the case, Tornado coach Tshepo Motsoeneng told the Daily Dispatch he was not impressed by the way his charges won the game.
“The opposition was so good that they should have won the game, but I won’t complain because I looked at my players and I say they didn’t ‘show up’.
“But we survived and it’s never easy playing teams that are not playing for anything. It’s always a challenge playing a team that is really not organised. Kudos to them for travelling on the day of the match.
“They got here with 15 players and I’m disappointed in my senior players – how can you be wounded when you are playing at home?” asked Motsoeneng.
The coach said he would take the points earned and put the performance aside as they needed to march on in the fast-paced league.
“I hope next week we’ll have a better performance because we always preach that you should improve every time you play.
“Maybe some players are still in break mode but I hope whoever we bring in during the transfer window, will help us move forward because no one was putting their feet on top of the ball today.”
He said it would have been a fair game if the visitors had earned the point as they deserved it because of the poor performance his charges put out.
Highbury coach Sisa Mbonda said the first half was a bit scrappy because of the careless mistakes his team made.
“Both teams could have done better and in the second half, we tried to identify the problems we were experiencing and I think the boys did well. We were just unfortunate to have lost the game.”
Mbonda said having a young squad was a challenge for the Port Elizabeth-based outfit and boosting their confidence was their number one priority.
“When it comes to big games, they become fragile and as a coach I need to work on their self-esteem which we have been doing during their past few games.
“Another thing is that they are new in this league and I think they respected the Tornado name. However, all in all, I was happy with the way we performed.
“We were not stronger, my wings didn’t perform well and upfront the team made it difficult for our strikers to take the chances we had. I think that was our weakest link in this game.”
This coming weekend, Highbury will play host to Mthatha City and Mbonda said if they could be more ruthless in their attack and be creative upfront, things would turn around.
OTHER RESULTS: PE Stars 1 EC Bees 1, City Lads 2 Bizana Pondo Chiefs 2, Sibayne 3 Matta Milan 3.
Hard-fought win for Tornado
The hard-fought win elevated the Mdantsane-based outfit to 37 points – keeping the No1 spot on the log standings and marking their record of 12 wins this season, while Highbury recorded their sixth loss to remain eighth on the log with 16 points.
Even though that was the case, Tornado coach Tshepo Motsoeneng told the Daily Dispatch he was not impressed by the way his charges won the game.
“The opposition was so good that they should have won the game, but I won’t complain because I looked at my players and I say they didn’t ‘show up’.
“But we survived and it’s never easy playing teams that are not playing for anything. It’s always a challenge playing a team that is really not organised. Kudos to them for travelling on the day of the match.
“They got here with 15 players and I’m disappointed in my senior players – how can you be wounded when you are playing at home?” asked Motsoeneng.
The coach said he would take the points earned and put the performance aside as they needed to march on in the fast-paced league.
“I hope next week we’ll have a better performance because we always preach that you should improve every time you play.
“Maybe some players are still in break mode but I hope whoever we bring in during the transfer window, will help us move forward because no one was putting their feet on top of the ball today.”
He said it would have been a fair game if the visitors had earned the point as they deserved it because of the poor performance his charges put out.
Highbury coach Sisa Mbonda said the first half was a bit scrappy because of the careless mistakes his team made.
“Both teams could have done better and in the second half, we tried to identify the problems we were experiencing and I think the boys did well. We were just unfortunate to have lost the game.”
Mbonda said having a young squad was a challenge for the Port Elizabeth-based outfit and boosting their confidence was their number one priority.
“When it comes to big games, they become fragile and as a coach I need to work on their self-esteem which we have been doing during their past few games.
“Another thing is that they are new in this league and I think they respected the Tornado name. However, all in all, I was happy with the way we performed.
“We were not stronger, my wings didn’t perform well and upfront the team made it difficult for our strikers to take the chances we had. I think that was our weakest link in this game.”
This coming weekend, Highbury will play host to Mthatha City and Mbonda said if they could be more ruthless in their attack and be creative upfront, things would turn around.
OTHER RESULTS: PE Stars 1 EC Bees 1, City Lads 2 Bizana Pondo Chiefs 2, Sibayne 3 Matta Milan 3.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos