Benni McCarthy frustrated by AmaZulu's failure to sign a top striker

AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy has lamented the club's failure to fulfill his wishes to sign a top-class striker after the Durban side's disappointing 0-1 home defeat to Nyasa Big Bullets in the opening leg of the Champions League at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Friday.

Usuthu have a mountain to climb to stay in the competition in the first round of their maiden campaign in the premier club competition on the continent when they travel to Lilongwe in Malawi for the second leg on September 18.

A bemused McCarthy could not believe the number of chances his players missed in the first leg in Durban, and expressed his disappointment at AmaZulu's failure to sign a striker.

The coach had wanted the club to sign a striker ahead of the start of the 2021-22 campaign as he felt they were struggling to score goals, even though they ended  as DStv Premiership runners-up in the last campaign.

“It is more than frustrating for me because that was the area in the team where I had the biggest concern,” the former Bafana Bafana striker said.

“It’s where I had a number of targets and I wanted to strengthen the squad with somebody who wanted to score goals, a striker.

“Then you see the way we started the season and I’m challenging now. I’m challenging players who want to score goals because that was my concern, and that was my marquee position that I wanted fixed in the team to add to what we have.

“I wanted someone [a striker] to come here because we play some nice football. We play good football but playing good football and you keep losing games doesn’t benefit the team.

"Goals win games. Beautiful football looks good and you enjoy it when you score goals, but unfortunately we can’t score and it’s a big concern for me.”

AmaZulu return to league action when meeting SuperSport United at Kings Park on Tuesday evening.