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Celtic coach plays down fast start

Cape Town - Bloemfontein Celtic coach Lehlohonolo Seema said the team will not get carried away by the 8-0 result they achieved against Moroka Swallows in their last MultiChoice Diski Challenge match in Soweto.

Celtic grabbed the headlines when they dominated the young Birds in the first match of the day – to take control of Group A with a superior goal difference.

“We did not expect such a score line, but we obviously wanted to win. Most importantly we wanted the team to play and stick to the strategy. We were just lucky on the day that everything worked in our favour.”

“The result is good for the players, getting a 8-0 win is a bonus for them. I must commend the team, they stuck to the plan and never disrespected their opponents.”

Asked what his instructions to the team were after going to the break leading 2-0. Seema said; “I always tell the lads that 2-0 is a very cruel score line in football, because once the other team get one goal, you are immediately under pressure.”

“I told them to go for more goals in order to have a comfortable lead. In the development level you want to explore, you never tell the players to sit back when enjoying a lead.”

Taking into account that scoring goals has been a major problem in the country - we asked Seema what they are doing differently at Celtic.

“To work with the young players is always nice, it’s not too tactical like in the highest level, we work patiently with them. If the confidence is there, scoring goals will come naturally. But you must also complement the defence, they are very clever these days. We work on finishing all the time with the team, it’s encouraging to see the results.”

The coach was quick to highlight that the result they got against Swallows won’t make the team complacent.

“We are not the team to beat, we are far from that. It happened, on the day, that we scored so many goals, but we still have a long way to go. Swallows were not a bad team, many are still going to struggle against them. We won’t be complacent,” he concluded.

Celtic host Polokwane City at Siwelele Park on Saturday in their first home match of the competition.

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