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Cape Town - According to Cape Town City assistant coach Vasili Manousakis, Friday's defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns has ended the Citizens' title charge.
Following some brilliant work by Percy Tau, Khama Billiat scored a superb goal two minutes after half time at the Athlone Stadium to earn Sundowns a 1-0 win which took them seven points clear of second-placed City.
Manousakis, who was filling in for the suspended Benni McCarthy, felt the Cape team should have gotten more out of the encounter.
"It's unbelievable how we lost this game it was one-way traffic in the first half. We absolutely murdered Sundowns. They looked very average, a lapse in concentration in the second half they gone in and scored," he said.
"Other than that Sage Stephens hasn't had to make a save the entire match. Absolutely bizarre. That's football for you.
"Not converting the chances, not scoring goals it becomes the problem when you dictate play like that and when you have all the possession it means nothing unless you stick the ball in the back of the net."
The City camp were also incensed that Sundowns goalkeeper Denis Onyango was given only a yellow card after he clattered into Thabo Nodada outside the area.
"I'm afraid the referee stole the show tonight. Tonight was a Victor Gomes show," said Manousakis.
"How the goalkeeper was not sent off it baffles all of us. Thabo Nodada ended up with 20-odd stitches on the back of his leg, he's absolutely destroyed him, and he's [Gomes] gone to send off Robyn Johannes for something soft and bizarre, but anyway it doesn't matter we're disappointed that we should have got something out of the game."
Asked if the Citizens can still challenge for the title, Manousakis replied:
"No I think that's us done. We will try to stay in the top five. Benni's mandate was to stay in the top eight, hopefully we can achieve that. We just got to keep going, credit to Sundowns they got the three points tonight."
