Johnson not happy with win

Pretoria - Despite a 1-0 victory over the University of Pretoria on Wednesday night, SuperSport United coach Cavin Johnson feels his side could have performed better and more work was required from them.

George Maluleka netted a powerful first half strike to send United to the top of the Premiership standings in a derby clash at Tuks Stadium, while the hosts suffered their second league defeat in as many matches.

"I thought Tuks played really well on Wednesday night. My team didn't play well," Johnson said after the game.

"We had a lot of possession but we gave it away too soon. My players didn't play that well but we got the point.

"But unlucky for Tuks. They missed a few chances, hitting the upright, but that's the way football is."

Johnson, who earlier this week dismissed notions of overlooking Wednesday's clash ahead of their game against Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend, admitted his players may have been guilty of just that, as they failed to dominate against AmaTuks.

"It's still a long way to go. We had one eye on Kaizer Chiefs before the game, maybe that's the reason we didn't play so well," Johnson explained.

"Chiefs are coming on Saturday and we will do our homework as usual and, hopefully, the players are able to play better football."

Meanwhile, Tuks coach Steve Barker praised his side for their performance, pointing out that SuperSport only had the one real chance, while the home side could have taken the lead but for one or two moments of misfortune.

"I have to give credit to my players for a good performance this evening," Barker said.

"I think everything went according to plan. Unfortunately, we conceded with the one shot they had on target the whole game.

"We were unlucky not to be in the lead at that stage and then I don't think they threatened us once in the second half."

Tuks would not panic just yet, Barker said, and still had much to look forward to for the rest of the season, based on their performance against a strong United outfit.

"There's a lot more to come from this team. I have to look at Wednesday night's performance and take positives out of it," he said.

"If we put in performances like this, week in and week out, then I'm sure results will go our way.

"It's just been a bit tough, but we've just got to show resilience and continue working hard."

In other results from Wednesday night, Free State Stars claimed their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Maritzburg United, before Mamelodi Sundowns and Platinum Stars played out to a 1-1 draw.

Wits earned a narrow 1-0 win over Golden Arrows, while Bloemfontein Celtic were made to work for their 3-2 win over league new-comers Polokwane City.