MANQOBA Mngqithi is a realist. Moments after Golden Arrows' 1-0 victory at Polokwane City Wednesday night when many coaches would have been basking in the glory of a maiden success with a new club, his sober-minded assessment of the match would have shamed some judges.

Admitting that there could have been more goals in the encounter that saw both teams playing attack-minded football, the 53-year-old coach lamented his team’s loss of momentum midway through the first half which almost gave the hosts the upper hand.

And while he was pleased with his team’s intensified play early after the break which helped conjure up Knox Mutizwa’s goal, he accepted that it was fortuitous that they scored.

“But at the start in the second half, we had a little more intensity with the press and that gave us the opportunity with the goalkeeper’s mistake.”

It was in looking ahead to the upcoming game against Magesi FC at Seshego Stadium on Saturday that you knew Mngqithi was not going to rest on his laurels or allow his players to think they’ve turned the corner given their having drawn with Mamelodi Sundowns and beaten Polokwane City – teams that are positioned high up on the table way above them.

“There are no easy games at this stage of the season,” he said during the post match conference.

“One thing I learnt is that there’s gonna be a lot of surprises as well. At this stage of the season you are fighting for your life, these (last matches) are all six-pointers and you must just try to fight and make sure they favour you. If you falter, the log table changes now and again,” he explained before highlighting that it would be key for his team to remain grounded.

“The important thing is for us to keep our feet on the ground, stay humble and not get carried away because there’s still a lot of work to do playing-wise and organizationally.

"The elementary mistakes we made technically suggests there’s still so much we have to do.

"We can’t afford to think that we are anywhere near better than what we were before these four points. We are going to take it one game at a time.

"We don’t want to lose focus. If we start thinking of the top eight or top four and thel lose focus on Magesi, it will be a problem.

"We have Magesi next, then it’s (Kaizer) Chiefs. And we still have two games against (Orlando) Pirates. It’s a tough scenario, but I am confident…”

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Golden Arrows coach Manqoba Mngqithi staying grounded after victory