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Rosslee: AmaZulu not there yet

Durban - AmaZulu coach Craig Rosslee insisted there was still some way to go before he was completely satisfied with pre-season preparations despite beating Manchester City 2-1 in Durban.

"In terms of our play, we’re not there yet.

"We’re still searching for the combinations and trying to find our feet," Rosslee said after Thursday's game against the English Premier League side.

"It was a good morale boosting win from a very tactical game.

"We wanted to penetrate them a little more but, nevertheless, it was good for the team's confidence."

With the scores level at 1-1, Zimbabwe defender Carlington Nyadombo slotted in a penalty two minutes from full-time to earn Usuthu the victory in a match against the tourists, arranged to mark the 95th birthday of former president Nelson Mandela.

The Durban club has undergone a complete overhaul of its squad over the winter, with over 10 players leaving and around the same number arriving as Rosslee aimed for an improvement on their 12th place finish in the Premiership last year.

"It’s early days.

"We tried a few combinations against City and wanted to give everyone a run out on the park."

Rosslee, whose team kick off their season against Orlando Pirates in Johannesburg on August 7, said he was still in the hunt for a striker and right back.

It was City's second consecutive loss on their South African tour having lost 2-0 to SuperSport United last Sunday.

This time manager Manuel Pellegrini was absent from the touchline after returning to Chile for personal reasons, leaving assistant Brian Kidd in charge.

However, the English giants were satisfied with their two-game trip ahead of their departure for Hong Kong, where they will continue their pre-season training at the weekend.

"I thought it was another excellent workout for us, as it was against SuperSport," Kidd said.

"We’re trying to get our fitness levels up again and players tonight had the extra minutes and got game time, which was important for us.

"It’s been two very good games for us against two very good opponents."

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