Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler has given his assessment of the past season, after leading the club to second place in the DStv Premiership.
An incredible run in 2022 saw City finish in their highest ever position, and also qualify for the CAF Champions League for the first time.
With the season wrapped up, Tinkler gave an assessment of their campaign, and said while they didn’t achieve all their objectives, he can look back on the season proudly.
“The season has come to an end, and what a season that was,” Tinkler said in his end-of-season summary.
“We obviously didn’t achieve entirely all our objectives – we started the season off reaching the MTN8 final, and unfortunately losing that to penalties against Mamelodi Sundowns.
“Our league form in the beginning of the season was also not entirely what we wanted to achieve. So by the time we got to the Christmas break, we knew that we needed to make a few changes.
“We lost some key players or we moved some key players out, and we brought in some fresh faces. And the team responded extremely well in the second half of the season.
“We were unfortunately knocked out of the Nedbank Cup in the first round against Royal AM, but the response from the players was exceptional in the league, as we went on to 13 games unbeaten and qualifying for the CAF Champions League.
“So a fantastic effort made by everyone at the club. We made history for the club, both in terms of the amount of clean sheets we managed to keep for the season, the fact that we went 13 games unbeaten, and then most importantly, finishing second in the league, and qualifying for the CAF Champions League.
“I’m obviously extremely proud of the technical team, and the work that they’ve obviously put in for the season. I’m very proud of the players, because they took a lot of responsibility, especially in the second half of the season. And they need to be given a lot of credit for what they’ve done and achieved.
“But the hard work starts now because we’re going to be a target come next season. We want to ensure that we sustain the type of performances that we put in at the back half of the season. We want to see consistency from everyone.
“And it’s going to be a tough season, considering the fact that there’s going to be a break obviously because of the FIFA World Cup now happening in December, instead of the normal period in June/July. The fixtures are going to come thick and fast, so our preparation is going to be extremely important.
“The players get a deserved break for the next month, and at the end of June, we obviously return and start preparing for the new season.
“Just want to obviously thank all the fans for supporting the club, and obviously next season, we playing in the CAF Champions League, so hopefully we will see a lot more people coming into the stadium supporting Cape Town City Football Club.”
