CAPE TOWN - SWALLOWS FC coach Brandon Truter admitted “the last third is a problem for us” after the goalless draw with Cape Town City in the MTN8 semi-final at Athlone Stadium.
Truter was full of praise for his defensive unit, with Sipho Sibiya claiming the Man of the Match award, while fellow defenders Yagan Sasman, Musa Nyatama and Thabo Matlaba were all in top form to keep a rampant City at bay.
But Swallows also had chances of their own on the counter-attack, even one right at the death to steal the contest, and it is here where Truter wants his team to be more clinical.
“A very tough game for us. I think the first 45 was end-to-end. Both teams had chances as well, but based on the chances we had the upper-hand. We created more clear-cut chances than them,” he said.
Man of the Match
Sipho Sibiya#SwallowsFC#UpTheBirds#MTN8 pic.twitter.com/Aq8uHEicOA
“But we must be ruthless with the chances that we create. With the turnovers we had. It was not just this game, but we also had it against AmaZulu. The last third is a problem for us at the moment. We need to address it.
“We can’t create this amount of opportunities and not convert them. Clean sheet after clean sheet. I think the only goal was a penalty against Pirates. It's four games without conceding now. The offensive players need to come to the fore and they need to show it. There is no use keeping the opponents out and then we don’t score,” Truter added.
⌚ FT | MTN 8 🟡
CT City 0-0 Swallows FC
It ends in a stalemate in the #MTN8 clash. These two sides will meet in the second leg. Swallows will be at home but without the advantage of an away goal. pic.twitter.com/8sgiqjYI27
Swallows will head back to Dobsonville for the second-leg not having conceded a goal though, which will give them hope that they can pull off a result, especially as they will have recovered from a hectic four-game period during the upcoming two-week international break.
“To be honest, I am looking forward to the Fifa window,” Truter said. “We had a good shape defensively (against City), but our legs were gone, travelling from AmaZulu, and then back to Cape Town, it showed. The preparations for this game did not go as we would have liked. Coming back from three games in the past week also showed.
“The Swallows that you saw showed we were not just all about pressing and attacking and high intensity. When we are under pressure, we keep you out still. That’s another side of us. I am happy for the defenders, I am happy for Sipho Sibiya.
“It’s a 0-0 draw we’re taking back to Dobsonville, and we always fancy ourselves at Dobsonville. City is a different kettle of fish, they are a good team, good players, good experience. They put a lot of balls in the box, but we dealt with those types of threats. So as much as our legs went, we managed it and we came away with a scoreless draw. All to play for at Dobsonville.”
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