Mamelodi Sundowns parked the bus – Benni McCarthy

Benni McCarthy suggested that his AmaZulu side forced Mamelodi Sundowns to play out of character by suffocating them in their own half in a DStv Premiership contest that ended in a goalless draw at the Kings Park Stadium.

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Sundowns ended Usuthu’s six-game winning run, much to the irritation of McCarthy, who was hoping AmaZulu would narrow down Masandawana’s lead to three points.

“I am extremely proud of our players for the tenacity and character that we have and the hunger and the desire that they showed to be so dominant against a Sundowns team where so many people have said when teams play Sundowns they park the bus.

“But I swear, it was a little bit other way around because in the long term I haven’t seen Sphelele Mkhulise, Lebohang Maboe, Rivaldo Coetzee, Lyle Lakay and Thapelo Morena defend as much as they did because they were on the back foot. The outcome was fair but I always wanted more,” said McCarthy.

He added: “We were by far a well-organised team and when we had opportunities to break well with counters, we did that very well with good quality and good speed but unfortunately our end product let us down a little bit. It was a fair result for both teams but three points would have taken us closer to them and a draw suited them more because they still stay six points ahead of us.”

Usuthu now sit joint second with fellow KwaZulu-Natal outfit Golden Arrows, who edge their neighbours and rivals on goal difference.