Chippa loss was a blessing in disguise – Pitso

Masandawana lost 2-1 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Mosimane says their elimination gives his side more time to rest as they are in a busy programme that features the Caf Champions League and having to play catch-up in their Absa Premiership title defence.

“When you look at the positive side of what happened, it gives us one more day to rest because we have games in hand in the league,” said Mosimane.

“If you are in the Nedbank Cup you must win it. If you don’t win it you might as well lose in the initial stage. Let’s say we won against Chippa and then we lose after three rounds, then what’s the point? It is really taxing,” he added.

However, he was pleased with his side’s performance against a “well-rested” team. In fact, Mosimane was a bit surprised when he saw some of the Chilli Boys cramping.

“I am unhappy with the result but not unhappy with the performance. We tried to win and I thought they’d be stronger than us in the last 30 minutes. We played a well-rested team. I saw some of them cramping towards the end and imagine if they are cramping, what about us?”

He added: “We have to congratulate Chippa for the win, they fought for it and they got the win. You’ve got to give credit, accept it and move on. We are disappointed that we didn’t win but I think this one was not meant for us.”

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