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Johannesburg - Ajax Cape Town coach Foppe de Haan was in good spirits after his side's top-of-the-table clash with Mamelodi Sundowns on Wednesday night, despite seeing his side throw away a commanding lead to draw the fixture 4-4.
At 4-1 up, the Urban Warriors appeared to be coasting to a famous victory in Tshwane but they allowed their title rivals back in to the tie and ultimately had to settle for a point.
When asked how his side managed to let such a dominant lead slip, De Haan joked that the match was simply too long.
He said: "The game was too long, hey. It should have ended after about 75 minutes, then we would have been OK."
On a more serious note, the Dutchman admitted that the introduction of Mabhuti Khenyeza with half an hour to play made all the difference.
He continued: "The reason it was 4-4 is they have a few good bench players. Khenyeza made the difference with his running and good touches on the ball.
"Also we made too much faults in the second half. We played well some of the time but not all of the time."
De Haan explained that his side's second half performance was not good enough to claim maximum points.
"No it's not good enough, we were too sloppy. If you look at the goals, we gave the ball to the opposition each time and they scored. It was not good enough to win, I can't be happy with 4-4," he added
The Ajax boss put the manner of the dropped points down to a lack of experience as he fielded a very young side.
"When you are a little bit older these things don't happen any more. You learn from these games but I'm not happy," he said.
De Haan knows Ajax will have to win all their home games if they are to stand a chance of winning the league after dropping behind Orlando Pirates in the PSL standings.
"We have to win each game at home and then well see what we do against Chiefs," he concluded.
At 4-1 up, the Urban Warriors appeared to be coasting to a famous victory in Tshwane but they allowed their title rivals back in to the tie and ultimately had to settle for a point.
When asked how his side managed to let such a dominant lead slip, De Haan joked that the match was simply too long.
He said: "The game was too long, hey. It should have ended after about 75 minutes, then we would have been OK."
On a more serious note, the Dutchman admitted that the introduction of Mabhuti Khenyeza with half an hour to play made all the difference.
He continued: "The reason it was 4-4 is they have a few good bench players. Khenyeza made the difference with his running and good touches on the ball.
"Also we made too much faults in the second half. We played well some of the time but not all of the time."
De Haan explained that his side's second half performance was not good enough to claim maximum points.
"No it's not good enough, we were too sloppy. If you look at the goals, we gave the ball to the opposition each time and they scored. It was not good enough to win, I can't be happy with 4-4," he added
The Ajax boss put the manner of the dropped points down to a lack of experience as he fielded a very young side.
"When you are a little bit older these things don't happen any more. You learn from these games but I'm not happy," he said.
De Haan knows Ajax will have to win all their home games if they are to stand a chance of winning the league after dropping behind Orlando Pirates in the PSL standings.
"We have to win each game at home and then well see what we do against Chiefs," he concluded.
