AmaZulu's good fight was ultimately not good enough as the relegation axe beheaded them off their Premier Soccer League status, but coach Steve Barker said his players gave it their all.

While they were second best for large stretches of their KwaZulu-Natal derby against Maritzburg United on Saturday, they could not ram home their one-man advantage after Kwanda Mngonyama was sent off by referee Victor Gomes.

Chasing a top-eight spot, United won 2-1, relegating AmaZulu in the process.

"[The players] fought hard to get back into the game and they were a bit unlucky not to go 2-1 up," Barker said. "Mental fatigue caught up with [them] and if you have noticed in our last couple of matches, there has not been a freshness to our performances. What has carried us is our determination and our fight, we just lacked that.

"When you play your fourth game in 11 days, you do think of freshening up the squad and giving some players an opportunity, but you also have to think of those who have taken you close to the line. Those players should be the ones who should get you over the line.

"We did get close, but it wasn't to be and I told the players at half-time that the score was 2-0 to try and motivate them because I could not see Chippa [United] beating [Kaizer] Chiefs. That result gave them a boost but it wasn't enough."

AmaZulu were always behind after their terrible start to the season that saw them go through coaching changes in the form of Craig Rosslee and Wilfred Mugeyi. Under Barker, the start was uneasy but once they found a winning touch this year, they became a formidable team even though there were times when they dropped points that were there for the taking.

There is the question of his future with the club, but Barker said he was keen on remaining with the team.