Folz – I Never Felt Under Threat From Chiefs

AmaZulu coach Romain Folz felt at no stage he felt his side were going to lose to Kaizer Chiefs at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday.

Usuthu advanced to the final of the MTN8 after getting a goalless draw (1-1 on aggregate) against the 15 times champions of this competition to progress on the away goal rule.

Usuthu will now face Orlando Pirates at the very same venue in Durban on 5 November, looking to win their first-ever trophy in 30 years.

The last time AmaZulu won the cup was in 1992 when they beat the very same Chiefs 3-1 in the Coca-Cola Cup at the old FNB Stadium.

However, Usuthu were put under enormous pressure in the second half but their defence led by Abbubaker Mobara, Ramahlwe Mphahlele and Veli Mothwa held firm.

But to be fair, goalie Mothwa was not troubled by Chiefs to stretch himself big and avert the danger.

“We knew we were facing a good team that has a lot of quality,” said Folz at the press conference.

“They had a lot of quality in every department on the field, so I was very pleased with how we did things tactically and the way the boys were able to execute everything I asked them to do.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t score in the first half, for many reasons. One of them was we lacked a little bit of an aggressive mindset going into the box, I thought we were a little bit too soft.

“But the positive point is that, where we knew we could hit them, we were able to do that. What pleased me more than that is the fact that, at no point in the game I felt the team was under threat.

“I think our balance was very good, I think our capacity to intervene in the right areas and how to regain the ball and when to press and not to press, it was very good as well.

“Our defending itself when it comes to crosses and all that, was very much on point. It tells me that, if we can keep that balance, if we can be a little bit more clinical when it comes to finishing, there’s a lot we can do.

“I’m happy for the players, I’m happy for the club and I’m happy for our fans in the first place. From the coaching point of view, it is a game we should have won and it should have been a win for us.”

In reaching the MTN8 final, it is the second time AmaZulu has done that in the PSL era, after doing so by reaching the Nedbank Cup final in 2010. However, on that occasion, they lost 3-0 to Bidvest Wits at FNB Stadium.