Stellenbosch FC's dominance in the CAF Confederation Cup continued with a ruthless 5-0 victory over Eswatini's Nsingizini Hotspurs in the second leg of the preliminary round. Playing at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday, Hotspurs experienced a harsh introduction to the continental stage, crashing out of the competition with an aggregate score of 8-0 and losing the first leg 3-0.
Telecom Asia Sport caught up with Junior Zindoga, a visibly dejected winger for Hotspurs.
The 26-year-old expressed his disappointment with the team's challenging experience in the CAF Confederation Cup and:
- Gave his thoughts on his side’s performance;
- Noted conceding early on in the must-win fixture;
- Elaborated on the club’s travel schedule for the continental journey,
- Opened up about the mentality ahead of the next season;
- Offered his perspective on the officiating of CAF referees;
Hard luck on the result today, your thoughts on the performance?
I think I’ll talk about it in phases. Maybe, so the first twenty or so minutes, we were i the game and then gave away a few mistakes, but I think overall, the boys tried their best seeing that it was their first CAF outing as well against a very strong side. I think the performance was good, (but) the scoreline doesn’t quite reflect it. Yeah, we tried our best.
Can you elaborate on the game plan, going into this one?
Obviously the first leg, we lost 3 nil. So the thought process tactically was to go at them, to attack them. They come up very high through their flanks so we tried to counter them with wingers as well. We pinned them back and that was the game plan we set up.
Of course, you guys conceded early on in the game. Do you think the coach could have maybe made a few substitutions?
Yeah, I think there were defensive errors so we gave them the goals. I don't necessarily think it was a substitution or a tactical point of view. Its just maybe a lapse in concentration or just an error.
Would you say traveling had a part to play in the defeat?
I wouldn't go as far and say it's traveling. I think its just the experience, learning from playing at a very high, intense game. They (are) in a better league than we are (in), but we’re learning. The travel arrangements and the accommodation was all top-notch.
Why do you say the result was not a true reflection of the match?
I think we could have hurt them and we did attack them and have good phases in the game but yeah, it’s just mistakes, just mistakes.
Your thoughts on the officiating both in the first leg and this leg?
No, I can’t complain. The Tunisian referees and the Kenyan referees were really good, they were really good.
Back to the drawing board for you and the team?
Yeah, definitely. So we're gonna start our league campaign in a week or two and hopefully, we kick on from there.
And finally, are we going to see you in CAF next year?
Haha, definitely, that’s the plan. CAF Confed (Confederations League) or CAF Champions League is the aim. We’re going to aim to win the league so we definitely be back in the CAF competitions again.
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The Eswatini side, making their debut in the competition just like Stellenbosch, conceded eight goals across the two legs and failed to score a single goal themselves. They will now return home to continue pre-season preparations ahead of domestic league action in the MTN Premier League.
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