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Cape Town - Highlands Park head coach Owen da Gama was delighted to beat Kaizer Chiefs in the Nedbank Cup after the Soweto Giants defeated them twice in the league this season.
The Lions of the North had previously really struggled against Amakhosi attacking movement, conceding six goals across the two Premiership fixtures before this game.
However, Da Gama noted they had realised the majority of Chiefs goals were coming from set-pieces, so they set themselves up to deal with that and only conceded one on the day.
"There was a lot of concern because we said, 'Don't give those set-pieces away, don't give set-pieces away in the final third'. Chiefs are really dangerous with those types of set-pieces," he said.
"But in saying that, I must give credit to Chiefs, they play very clever. They know how to get those free-kicks, that's something we gotta learn as well. So the referee was unbelievable, the linesman, there's nothing that you can take away from what happened in today's game."
Overall, the Highlands Park coach was delighted to get one over on a team that had effectively dominated them this season and praised the determination his side showed on the day.
"Ah, character hey, that's what I call character. The boys just showed the best character you could ask for, they really worked their socks off," Da Gama told SuperSport.
"You know they are a monkey on our back, Chiefs beat us twice this season and you know it was all about saying, "Guys, anything is possible, if you work hard and put everything into it, anything is possible".
"But I must give credit to Chiefs, they are a fantastic team you know maybe lady luck was a little bit on our side. I thought there were times where they could have snatched one. I thought there were times where we could have got one or two as well. But just the way the boys played, I think the character carried us through today, so we're very happy."
Highlands Park won on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after extra time and Da Gama was delighted to be a part of such a spectacle.
"I just thought it was just a fantastic marvel of football to watch and we're happy for the fans, we're happy for the Chiefs fans. It kept everybody on their toes, from the start to finish, everybody was on their toes and I think it was a great advert for football. But from my side I was happy with the character the boys showed," he said.
- TEAMtalk media
