After Cape Town City defeated Sekhukhune United 2-1 in the DStv Premiership at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, City head coach Eric Tinkler was pleased to see his side come out on top in a game he described as "tough". 

Craig Martin opened the scoring early in the game after he was set up by Khanyisa Mayo. A few minutes later, the resilient Sekhukhune found their way back into the game, thanks to Yusuf Maart. Right before halftime, City regained their one-goal lead, courtesy of Mayo, to go into the interval 2-1. 

In the second stanza, the hosts had to dig deep as they were pinned against the wall by the visitors who were searching for an equaliser. At the end, Tinker's men managed to secure the vital win to help their quest for a top-eight finish. 

"Tough 2-1 win at the end of the day," said Tinkler. "It was always going to be a tough game against Sekhukhune. They've showed this season that they're not an easy team to beat. They're a team that looks to defend very deep. They defend in a block, making it very difficult for the opposition. 

"We knew that this was going to be tough, we knew that when opportunities come we have to finish them off. We got a very early goal, catching them on the counter. We had two or three chances to extend our lead but with a little complacency, we lose the ball in the midfield and they make it 1-1. 

"We get the 2-1 lead through their mistake again, goalkeeper makes an error, Mayo wins the ball and strikes into the back of the net," said Tinkler. 

Given the high stakes Tinkler delivered a pep talk in the dressing room to keep the players calm, and it seemed to work as they managed to get all three points that on offer and moved to sixth place on the log.

Tinkler credited his side for withstanding the pressure from Sekhukhune. "We had to soak up a lot of pressure in the last 10 to 15 minutes. They started to play more direct; they have big boys upfront. 

"We had to win the second ball. We ended up having to defend for our lives," said the former Bafana Bafana midfielder.