SuperSport United have admitted that they were outplayed in Saturday’s MTN8 final and deserved to end up on the losing side after going down on post-match penalties to Cape Town City at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

City win the title decider 4-1 after a tense penalty shootout.

“We didn’t have a good start and we did not stamp our authority in terms of possession‚” explained rookie coach Kaitano Tembo after the goalless draw‚ followed by the defeat on penalties.

“We had some opportunities in the first 15 minutes‚ managing to get into areas and setting up‚ maybe‚ half chances.

“But overall‚ I think they were the better team in terms of possession‚ even though it wasn’t quality possession.

"There were long periods where we couldn’t get hold of the ball.

“The game going all the way to penalties summed it up: it was a tight game with very few really good opportunities created in the game.

"And penalties are always a lottery. But credit to City‚ they deserved it‚” Tembo said with a touch of magnanimity.

SuperSport were surprisingly unambitious‚ having to defend but then unable to catch their opponents on the counter-attack‚ which is how they usually play.

“I think our most influential players didn’t really click‚” he added in trying to explain the apparent lethargy.

But SuperSport lost their speed when first Fagrie Lakay went off just before half-time with a hamstring pull and then Evans Rusike followed in the second half after receiving a knock on his ankle.

“The lack of speed going forward was the main reasons why we couldn’t really click but at the same time‚ in midfield we never really dominated in terms of possession.

"We never got hold of the ball for long periods‚” added Tembo.

SuperSport had won last year’s MTN8 over City on post-match penalties at the same venue and were appearing in a cup final for the 10th time in as many years.