After AmaZulu’s historic win against ES Setif, Benni McCarthy has explained why the victory was especially special for him.
AmaZulu picked up their second consecutive win in the CAF Champions League on Friday evening after they edged Algerian side ES Setif 1-0 at Moses Mabidha Stadium.
Usuthu are now second on the table with six points, behind the log leaders Raja Casablanca who beat Horoya 1-0 in the late Friday fixture but McCarthy had a personal reason why the win was special to him.
“It’s a special win, but it’s an incredible special day for me because today was the day I had my first child ever,” McCarthy told reporters.
“It’s her birthday today, and she turned 17 which is a massive, massive significant number for me because my life changed when I was 17 and my daughter turned 17.
“So is good, and I appreciate that, and I’ll share the beautiful day just as I’m about to have now after today’s game.”
McCarthy also praised his side for standing their ground against former CAF Champions League winners.
“I think it was a very good game, first 20 minutes veery one-side and that’s why you don’t see me with a bigger smile on my face,” he added.
“It was a bit of a bittersweet moment because it’s not every day that you find a novice team in the CAF Champions League against two-time winners [ES Setif], three-time winners Raja that are so comfortable in their own skin and we do the things we do.
“The fact that we didn’t win the game 3-0 or 4-0, which was doable, yes everyone else is celebrating, people are saying we must be happy when we get a victory.
“Then we put ourselves on the back foot towards the end, because anything can happen, when you keep the score at 1-0.
“I think we had three glorious opportunities. I think we made things a bit difficult for us. We get the goal, deservedly so. We look calm and composed, we do all the right things, play football the way it’s supposed to be played.
“We do all the things that you can do on a football pitch, except for the most important part and that is to score goals.”
AmaZulu will shift their focus to the DStv Premiership as they host Stellenbosch at Moses Mabidha Stadium on Wednesday.
