Gallants shift focus to league after cup disappointment

Disappointed Marumo Gallants coach Abdeslam Ouaddou feels they deserved to at least force Sunday's Nedbank Cup semifinal clash against Orlando Pirates into extra time, shifting focus to the league, where he says six points would be enough to save their status.

Kabelo Dlamini's goal early in the first half saw Pirates eliminate Marumo at Orlando Stadium. Ouaddou is now targeting to avoid relegation as they are just three points away from the play-off spot.

“We deserved to have scored at least one goal and gone to extra time, but we were not efficient enough in the final third. In the first half, we made some small mistakes and we conceded that goal. At this level, a game can be decided by small details and that's something we've learnt and we know we must improve in our league games,” Ouaddou stated.

“You could see that Pirates managed the game well and showed experience. We are a bit disappointed, but we will not give up. We are going to rest and put all our focus on the PSL games because the priority was always to save the club. I think we need two wins to be safe.”

Ouaddou suggested they were encouraged to do it for the football-mad people of the City of Roses. “Bloemfontein deserves to have a strong club, so we must fight for the people to make sure we save the life of this team.''

Bahlabane Ba Ntwa's next game is in the league against Golden Arrows at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium on Saturday (3pm). With Royal AM expelled from the league, it is believed that there'll be no automatic relegation this season, leaving lowly teams only fighting to avoid going to the play-offs.

SowetanLIVE