Johannesburg - Ajax Cape Town coach Foppe de Haan believes his side's first-half showing cost them the game against Kaizer Chiefs.
The Urban Warriors were thrashed 4-0 by Amakhosi in Polokwane to blow the title race wide open ahead of the final round of matches in a fortnight.
De Haan believes his side improved during the second period, but that was not good enough after their poor showing in the first.
"The first half was real bad," De Haan said after the match.
"They played real well and we were not good in midfield. The organisation when they had the ball was not good enough and they had too much pace.
"They played well and we lost our mind - we lacked experience.
"The second half was a bit better, but we couldn't finish. We lost and they won, and they had the fight to win."
"The back four were no good, but the midfield (were not good either)," he added.
With regard to the title race, the Dutch mentor said: "We are still in it. It is not over and we can see what a strange league this is. We are still in it."
Chiefs winger Siphiwe Tshabalala, who scored a brace, paid tribute to his team-mates after collecting the "Man of the Match" award.
"It was a collective effort from the guys. We knew they were going to come at us through the middle and we closed them down well," Shabba said.
"We told ourselves that we would go out there an enjoy ourselves. We owed it to the fans."
"The (title) dream is almost over but we are looking forward to the last game and we want to finish the season on a high," he added.
The Urban Warriors were thrashed 4-0 by Amakhosi in Polokwane to blow the title race wide open ahead of the final round of matches in a fortnight.
De Haan believes his side improved during the second period, but that was not good enough after their poor showing in the first.
"The first half was real bad," De Haan said after the match.
"They played real well and we were not good in midfield. The organisation when they had the ball was not good enough and they had too much pace.
"They played well and we lost our mind - we lacked experience.
"The second half was a bit better, but we couldn't finish. We lost and they won, and they had the fight to win."
"The back four were no good, but the midfield (were not good either)," he added.
With regard to the title race, the Dutch mentor said: "We are still in it. It is not over and we can see what a strange league this is. We are still in it."
Chiefs winger Siphiwe Tshabalala, who scored a brace, paid tribute to his team-mates after collecting the "Man of the Match" award.
"It was a collective effort from the guys. We knew they were going to come at us through the middle and we closed them down well," Shabba said.
"We told ourselves that we would go out there an enjoy ourselves. We owed it to the fans."
"The (title) dream is almost over but we are looking forward to the last game and we want to finish the season on a high," he added.