Da Gama: 'Big' Chiefs win was all about character

Cape Town - Highlands Park head coach Owen Da Gama hailed his players' determination after they knocked Kaizer Chiefs out of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday.

The Lions of the North were expected to struggle against Amakhosi, but they drew 1-1 at Makhulong Stadium before winning via the penalty shootout to earn a place in the quarter-finals.

Da Gama was delighted to see his charges come out on top especially considering how disappointed they were to lose to Chiefs in the opening league game of the season.

"We felt very hard done by when we lost (to Chiefs 2-3) in the first league game of the season with a deflection," Da Gama said, as quoted by SowetanLIVE.

"But for me, it was all about character, that's what the boys showed. They deserve it. With a character like that, no one will take anything away from you.

"But you must give credit to Chiefs, they played very well. But unfortunately, it is not easy at Makhulong, everybody knows that."

He added: "This victory is so big for us, it's just our second season, we are coming from the final (MTN8) and now you are beating Chiefs, you're going into the quarterfinals. It is so big.

"But I think the boys have to stay grounded, we still have two league games before we can play the quarterfinals. We are going to focus on our next league game which is Golden Arrows away."

- TEAMtalk media