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Johannesburg - AmaZulu head coach Manqoba Mngqithi admits he was shocked by Orlando Pirates' performance when the two sides played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
Usuthu were on the verge of an upset after scoring through substitute Lehlohonolo Majoro in the 87th minute, but Happy Jele saved Bucs' twelve-match unbeaten run with a last-gasp equaliser deep in injury time.
Mngqithi puts Pirates' performance down to the Soweto Derby next weekend, suggesting that the players had their eyes on the glamour tie with Kaizer Chiefs.
"I was surprised with the way Pirates played, but as a coach I understand that players don't focus much when there is a big match coming like their one against Chiefs, so maybe that explains why they were not so good against us," he said.
Mngqithi continued that he had not been impressed with Majoro, despite the striker's eighth goal of the campaign.
"To be honest Majoro has not been playing well in the past three matches, that's why I put him on the bench and again if you had to look at it closely without the goal that he scored there is not much that you can say about his game at the moment," Mngqithi said.
"He's been totally out in the last three matches and honestly speaking even today I don't think he had a good match. I was even fighting with him before he scored because I was not happy."
However, the former Golden Arrows coach was definitely impressed with Sibusiso Hadebe, who seamlessly slotted into an unfamiliar role at left back.
"We had to use Sbu as a fullback, which I believe is a better position for him than playing as a winger. As a winger he is not very productive and the output is not of high quality in most cases but when he is coming from deep he is very useful and defensively I think he is one of the best players in South Africa one-on-one, even ahead of the so-called central defenders that we have," he added.
"He is one player that I'm confident that even on one-on-one situations with any opponent he will come top. He's got good qualities that we are lacking in South Africa, which is aggressiveness and immediate pressure on the ball. All the wingers that have played against him will tell you they can't make it against him."
Usuthu were on the verge of an upset after scoring through substitute Lehlohonolo Majoro in the 87th minute, but Happy Jele saved Bucs' twelve-match unbeaten run with a last-gasp equaliser deep in injury time.
Mngqithi puts Pirates' performance down to the Soweto Derby next weekend, suggesting that the players had their eyes on the glamour tie with Kaizer Chiefs.
"I was surprised with the way Pirates played, but as a coach I understand that players don't focus much when there is a big match coming like their one against Chiefs, so maybe that explains why they were not so good against us," he said.
Mngqithi continued that he had not been impressed with Majoro, despite the striker's eighth goal of the campaign.
"To be honest Majoro has not been playing well in the past three matches, that's why I put him on the bench and again if you had to look at it closely without the goal that he scored there is not much that you can say about his game at the moment," Mngqithi said.
"He's been totally out in the last three matches and honestly speaking even today I don't think he had a good match. I was even fighting with him before he scored because I was not happy."
However, the former Golden Arrows coach was definitely impressed with Sibusiso Hadebe, who seamlessly slotted into an unfamiliar role at left back.
"We had to use Sbu as a fullback, which I believe is a better position for him than playing as a winger. As a winger he is not very productive and the output is not of high quality in most cases but when he is coming from deep he is very useful and defensively I think he is one of the best players in South Africa one-on-one, even ahead of the so-called central defenders that we have," he added.
"He is one player that I'm confident that even on one-on-one situations with any opponent he will come top. He's got good qualities that we are lacking in South Africa, which is aggressiveness and immediate pressure on the ball. All the wingers that have played against him will tell you they can't make it against him."
