Gallants coach Mdaka says Young Africans knew their weaknesses

After being knocked-out of the Caf Confederation Cup, Marumo Gallants coach Raymond Mdaka says Young Africans studied them very well and knew their weaknesses in defence.

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Gallants’ fairytale run in the Confed Cup ended in the semi-finals of the tournament. They lost the first leg 2-0 away from home in Tanzania and then in the return leg played at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday, they were edged 2-1 by the Tanzanian outfit, taking the aggregate score to 4-1.

Mdaka believes they could have done better in the return leg, but their opponents knew exactly where to hurt them.

“I think they did their home-work very well. They started by sitting back and knowing they have speed, they relied on counter-attack. We were able to manage that in the first few minutes of the game until we conceded the first goal after giving away the ball on our own half,” said Mdaka.

“The second one (goal) was on a counter attack and they relied on the speed of their striker. Because they realised the weakness of our defence in terms of speed.”

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Mdaka added that his charges have done very well to reach this stage of the continental tournament.

“But, other than that, I think our boys played well up until now. Also today (Wednesday), we had a number of chances in the first half, but we didn’t bury them. Hard-luck to the boys, I think we have done enough and congratulations to Young Africans.”

With the Caf campaign having ended, the Limpopo based team now have to shift their focus back into the domestic league, where they find themselves battling to escape relegation.

Gallants are in 15th spot on the DStv Premiership standings, after collecting 29 points in 29 games.

They visit Swallows FC in their last game of the season at Dobsonville Stadium needing a win in order to avoid relegation and playoffs.