Durban — AmaZulu head coach Romain Folz believes his side's loss in the MTN8 Cup final was not a fair reflection of the game and believes their opponents Orlando Pirates weren't a better side.
Usuthu in their first ever MTN8 final, started the game the slower of the two sides and suffered an early setback as they went a goal down in the opening 25 minutes through a wonder free-kick by Monnapule Saleng.
Saleng has been Pirate's shining light in this season's MTN8 campaign and once again showed another side to his game, slotting a well taken free-kick which took his tournament tally to three goals.
THAT MAN AGAIN!
Saleng puts the Buccaneers ahead 😤
📺 Stream #MTN8Final live: https://t.co/Tg69y0m5GD pic.twitter.com/Vn6r2RCORK
His decisive free-kick proved the difference on the day and based on that, Folz reacted to members of the media and felt that the set-piece was the only difference between his side and Pirates.
"The one thing that annoyed me the most today was the fact that we lost through a set-piece because if they don't score that set-piece I don't think they score against us,"he expressed.
"If we were outplayed and we conceded three goals and they played better than us then I wouldn't have that much of a problem. I'm not taking anything away from them but honestly, I don't think they were better than us"
Usuthu's inability to live up to high profile match temperament was again placed under the microscope as they failed to score in the second MTN match in a row.
Folz admitted that some of his players did not live up to the pre-match billing but encouraged them to take vital lessons as bigger battles lie ahead.
"Obviously after the match it's very easy to point fingers at specific people but for me what's important is that we understand why this is the case and how we fix it moving forward."
"Yes it's sour that some of the players weren't at the level you expect and they know they can do better but being in being in the final doesn't mean it's your last final ever."
IOL Sport