Manousakis – We Grinded That Result Out

Richards Bay Co-Coach Vasili Manousakis has praised his team’s commitment and desire after their 2-1 away win over Stellenbosch in the DStv Premiership.

After losing their last two games in the league, the top flight debutants bounced back with a hard-fought win at the Danie Craven Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

When asked by iDiski Times journalist Rob Delport about stopping the run of defeats, Manousakis said it was important as they knew a third loss in a row could start creating panic.

“We’re very happy, it was very difficult,” Manousakis replied.

“You know, you look at the first half, I can’t remember, I think the stats say that we’ve got 38 to 40% possession, we got two shots on target. We understood when we came here, it’s not easy to play Stellenbosch here, we’re gonna have to sacrifice some possession.

“As long as the structure was good defensively, we were organized. And just before the goal, we found ourselves under quite a bit of pressure, they had pinned us back. And I was a little bit disappointed.

“We told the guys at halftime that we continue to drop deep and deeper without pressure on the ball. So that was hurting us a little bit. But then, you know, a fantastic moment.

“That’s something we saw in the videos as something we worked on in training, getting to the corners, getting deep crosses, and we said if you arrive on time, at the far post, you’ve got a good chance of scoring because Basadien and Van Rooyen aren’t natural defenders, they’re wingers that have been converted, and they’re fantastic players, but we spotted this weakness, it’s come out thankfully, it’s a good deep cross, Barns arrives on time. And one nil.

“And, again, they’ve pinned us back, they’re the home team. And they get something that I thought was a very soft goal, just before halftime, I had the feeling without seeing it again, that it was offside, but it’s something that I have to go and look at.

“And then we tried to correct one or two things at halftime. But one thing we were not going to compromise on, especially not to get the third loss in the row, was the desire and the commitment. Sometimes you can’t coach those things.

“And if the players understand the importance. I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we grinded that result out. And we did enough to let’s say make them uncomfortable in the second half. And I think that’s how we landed up with the three points.”

In this edition of iDiski Times, we talk to Sibusiso Mabiliso who talks about his time at Kaizer Chiefs and how he feels he didn’t really get the chance to show what he was capable of. We also hear from African football legend Yaya Toure, who discusses the significance of Benni McCarthy’s appointment at Manchester United as well as his ambitions to help grow the game. Get this and a whole lot more in the full edition below: