Reacting to their 5-0 demolition by Mamelodi Sundowns, chatty Summerfield Dynamos coach Clinton Larsen has made it known the Nedbank Cup was never their priority.
Sundowns thrashed Summerfield in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld Stadium at the weekend. The third-tier side based in KwaZulu-Natal, who are their province's ABC Motsepe League champions, will be hoping to finish in the top two in the national playoffs to earn a slot in the GladAfrica Championship for next term.
“It was a good exercise, a good learning curve for my young team. I know we had some old heads out there who really struggled in terms of the pace of the game, but as a team we tried our best. We've had a great season in the ABC Motsepe League, where we went unbeaten at home and qualified for the nationals,” said Larsen.
“That has been the big prize for us. We're hoping to go all the way and get qualification to the NFD. This, the Nedbank Cup, was just a bonus. We punched above our weight to even get this far, so it was all about enjoying the occasion.”
Larsen, a seasoned coach who coached a number of top-flight sides like Golden Arrows and Chippa United, emphasised they're not ashamed of the result as even elite league sides have been subjected to a heavy drubbing by the Tshwane giants, citing the example of Swallows who lost 4-2 to Sundowns last week.
“Playing against Sundowns boosted our morale. They just beat Swallows 4-2... they put four pass Swallows and Swallows are a Premier League team, so they've been scoring against any opponent in the league. We knew we had an uphill task from the beginning and we weren't honestly expecting to beat them but we did want them to sweat a bit and I think we didn't play to our true potential. Out team is a lot better than what we displayed tonight,” stated Larsen.
Nedbank Cup run bonus for promotion-chasing Summerfield
We’re hoping to get qualification to the NFD – Larsen
Image: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images
Reacting to their 5-0 demolition by Mamelodi Sundowns, chatty Summerfield Dynamos coach Clinton Larsen has made it known the Nedbank Cup was never their priority.
Sundowns thrashed Summerfield in the Nedbank Cup quarterfinal at Loftus Versfeld Stadium at the weekend. The third-tier side based in KwaZulu-Natal, who are their province's ABC Motsepe League champions, will be hoping to finish in the top two in the national playoffs to earn a slot in the GladAfrica Championship for next term.
“It was a good exercise, a good learning curve for my young team. I know we had some old heads out there who really struggled in terms of the pace of the game, but as a team we tried our best. We've had a great season in the ABC Motsepe League, where we went unbeaten at home and qualified for the nationals,” said Larsen.
“That has been the big prize for us. We're hoping to go all the way and get qualification to the NFD. This, the Nedbank Cup, was just a bonus. We punched above our weight to even get this far, so it was all about enjoying the occasion.”
Larsen, a seasoned coach who coached a number of top-flight sides like Golden Arrows and Chippa United, emphasised they're not ashamed of the result as even elite league sides have been subjected to a heavy drubbing by the Tshwane giants, citing the example of Swallows who lost 4-2 to Sundowns last week.
“Playing against Sundowns boosted our morale. They just beat Swallows 4-2... they put four pass Swallows and Swallows are a Premier League team, so they've been scoring against any opponent in the league. We knew we had an uphill task from the beginning and we weren't honestly expecting to beat them but we did want them to sweat a bit and I think we didn't play to our true potential. Out team is a lot better than what we displayed tonight,” stated Larsen.
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