AmaZulu coach Folz says MTN8 final should have ended in a draw

AmaZulu FC coach Romain Folz doesn’t think Orlando Pirates were dominant enough against them to lift the MTN8 .

Usuthu were edged 1-0 in the Wafa-Wafa final, with a spectacular free kick from Monnapule Saleng in the first half giving Pirates the victory at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Folz admits that his team were not at their best in the first half, but that also doesn’t mean that Bucs were all over them.

“If it was not for set pieces I don’t think they would have scored against us, that’s what bothers me a little bit,” said Folz.

“If you get outplayed left and right and they score three goals, then they are better than you. I don’t think that was the case. But again, I don’t take anything away from them, congratulations. You only play one final, it’s their win, our loss, but I don’t think they were better than us,.

“We were very inactive in the first half. We were lacking movement off the ball, overall intensity in the right directions were very low. I wouldn’t say that Pirates were better than us in the first half. I would say they were lacking in some departments. They got many free-kicks and they used one of them, it was the only difference between the two teams.”

The Usuthu mentor added that his team played much better in the second half and he believes the game should have ended in a goalless draw.

“The second half was much better for us, our intensity was much better, the ball was released much quicker, and our movement off the ball was better,” added Folz.

“It allowed us to have more chances, unfortunately we couldn’t score, but, if I look at the game again I would say a draw would have been a fair result and to go into extra time. If we would have done better in the first half, especially in the first few minutes, we would have probably seen a different outcome.”