ASTUTE Thanda Royal Zulu FC head coach, Vladislav Heric, made a couple of telling points before Saturday’s tough tester at home against rock bottom NFD outfit Maluti FET.
Firstly, he reminded fans that teams fighting for survival always go flat out to avoid a loss at all costs.
Secondly, he said it made no difference how the win comes, nor how many goals are scored: ‘All that matters is getting the three points.’
He further added that he refuses to look at what the teams chasing third-placed Thanda on the log are doing, stating that he only has eyes for the teams above him.
The Amabhubesi top man was spot on, on every count.
Despite an often dismal display in a scrappy 2-1 win over the visitors, Thanda did emerge with all three points, and that’s what counts.
At times, especially for the first 30 minutes, they played atrocious football, looking like a side who had only met for the first time in the change room before the game.
Passes found no one, communication was terrible and ball control was shocking, with some players trapping ball as far as I can kick it.
Strangely enough, they also had long periods where they attack mercilessly – at one stage winning six consecutive corners but failing to score.
Maluti deservedly went into the lead after 20 minutes with a super strike from Mzwandile Banda following some slick inter-passing.
Ace Bhengu evened matters in the 36th minute with a spot kick that sent the keeper the wrong way.
Thanda ended the first half with Nkosingiphile Ncobeni driving hard but high, Sihle Myeza failing to place a header, Mthokozisi Nene failing to get a touch on a cross, and Menzi Hlophe fluffing an easy tap-in – all in the space of three minutes.
No stomach
They should have been well clear on the basis of chances and corners, but Maluti were far better in terms being hungrier, quicker and fighting harder for the ball.
Amabhubesi had seemed to lack the stomach for the physical game.
As it turned out, this might literally have been the case as half the team had reportedly been suffering from a tummy bug.
They did improve in a ding-dong second stanza where again numerous chances were spurned, and there was plenty of relief when Hlophe’s neat cross was powerfully headed into the far corner by Bhengu to seal the deal at 2-1.
Ace cemented his place as the league’s leading scorer, his brace taking his tally for the season to 14.
More good news for Thanda is that both sides above them – Golden Arrows and Cosmos – drew over the weekend, thus closing the top three points gap to Arrows 37, Cosmos 36 and Thanda 34.
Thanda play away to Royal Eagles on Wednesday and are back home on Saturday against Cosmos.
