Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids says his club might have won those three matches on the bounce, but the mindset of his players is not right looking at the way they approach the games.
Davids pointed that his side failed to take “the three points and run” against AmaZulu, who snatched a draw in an entertaining match at Harry Gwala Stadium in the KZN Derby on Friday.
Maritzburg seemed off the pace against the imposing Usuthu, who dominated the game, but still conceded through Kwame Peprah’s header in the first half.
Aware that he was losing the midfield battle, Davids reinforced his side by introducing Travis Graham in place of Rowan Human just before the second half got underway.
But Usuthu still won many balls and Maritzburg eventually crumbled as Guily Manziba was on hand to stab home the equaliser to see the points shared.
“The three matches in the row [we won] really gave us that boost,” said Davids.
“We had a fantastic pre-season [break during the FIFA World Cup] and we were improving game by game, week by week.
“We got rude awakening when I saw the pressure on match day against [Chippa United, the match they lost 1-0 away last weekend] and we saw that against TS Galaxy [another loss in Davids’ first game in charge] and we see them playing in these pre-season friendly matches against these PSL teams and dominating and playing, playing through.
“The pressure against TS Galaxy made me realise that of the much bigger job and the talent that they have, but the mindset and the pressure they are playing with is what we are trying to change.
“We got the three wins, not our best performances in those wins. The Royal AM was very good, the Golden Arrows win was a very good first half, the Marumo Gallants was a fight.
“Against AmaZulu, it was another fight, but the conditions weren’t really good. So it is a continuous process to work and try to change the mindset, step by step and we paid the school fees to learn these lessons to manage the game, even though you are not at your best. But take the three points [when you are leading] and run.”
As Stellenbosch, Swallows and Marumo Gallants all won, Maritzburg dropped back in the relegation zone, lying second from bottom with 21 points after 19 matches.
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Maritzburg switch their focus to the Nedbank Cup Last-32 against Kaizer Chiefs at Harry Gwala Stadium on Friday night (19:30).
