Furman fearless ahead of Caf Confed Cup semis

In perhaps their most gallant performance this season, the Pretoria-based side showed their resilience in their quarterfinal tie away to Zambian side Zesco United, coming back from behind twice to muster a 2-2 draw in Ndola.

Both goals were courtesy of sublime strikes by Thuso Phala in either half, and Furman has since illuminated the importance of the 31-year-old in Eric Tinkler’s squad.

“He is huge for us, there is no doubt, he is scoring and he is making assists with the constant threat that he poses with his pace and his delivery. We know that when he is on form we’ve got a good chance to beat anyone. We know that he is a great finisher,” Furman told Phakaaathi.

“I know he grabbed all the headlines but there were some other outstanding performances on the day. Ronwen Williams was terrific at goal, Aubrey Modiba put in a good shift, Teboho Mokoena as well and there were great performances all round.

“We are delighted to be in the semi-finals after difficult circumstances. It is an incredible feeling and that’s all due to our never die attitude, we kept pushing and believing.”

READ: SuperSport sneak into Caf Confederation Cup semis

Matsatsantsa’s next hurdle are 2011 runners-up Tunisian side Club Africain in a two legs tie, with the first encounter scheduled for this Friday at the Lucas Moripe Stadium.

“We don’t fear any team, we hope that we can get a positive result at home and we hope that we can progress further in the competition,” said the Bafana Bafana international.

“It is quite rare that you play the quarterfinals one week and then the next you play the semi-finals, there’s normally a bit of time in between. But we know that we are going to be up against a very tough team and it will be extremely difficult over the two legs but we believe we can go all the way,” concluded Furman.

ALSO READ: Pitso blames officials for Sundowns’ Caf exit