Smiso Msomi
AmaZulu head coach Pablo Franco Martin has praised his side’s unrelenting spirit following their dramatic win over Chippa United.
Usuthu boosted their Top 8 ambitions with a hard-fought win over high flyers Chilli Boys on Saturday, reinstalling belief in a positive end to coach Martin’s debut season in South Africa. After going a goal down inside eight minutes, AmaZulu showed resolve in the second half to equalise, before Hendrick Ekstein scored a penalty in the 95th minute to secure all three points.
The KwaZulu-Natal-based outfit has been on the wrong end of what they felt was poor officiating in recent weeks, which led to their elimination from the Nedbank Cup as well as their top eight hopes taking a blow.
AmaZulu’s 2023/24 campaign seemed to be going off the rails as they suffered back-to-back defeats to Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup and in league competition.
Martin and his men displayed signs of slight relief in their body language as they climbed up to ninth on the DStv Premiership standings. The Spanish-born mentor could not hold back his immense pride and respect for his camp for displaying strong mental character after a difficult week.
“It has to be congratulations to everyone, to the player, the technical staff for the great job we are doing and the way that we’ve stood up to come back from the situations of the last two games,” he said
He further added: “It was a really tough (period) and I think we played really well, but coming up with our hands empty I think was tough and that was part of the reason we played until the end and we won that penalty today. So, (Saturday) we deserve the three points and the position we’re in as well.”
AmaZulu did not make the best of starts into the game as a shift in their usual 3-5-2 formation to a 4-3-3 saw Chippa dominate them in the first 45 minutes.
Martin’s tweak was largely influenced by the unavailability of central defender Abbubaker Mobara through suspension.
FULL-TIME ⏰ | #DStvPremiership 🏆
— AmaZulu FC (@AmaZuluFootball) April 27, 2024
Victory at Moses Mabhida Stadium.#AmaZuluFC 2⃣ ➖ 1⃣ Chippa#Indlulamithi#HebeUsuthu#UsuthuTogether pic.twitter.com/ytk7LZX2qE
Tshepang Moremi netted his first goal of the season. He is the #DStvPrem Man of the Match 🏅#Indlulamithi#HebeUsuthu#UsuthuTogether pic.twitter.com/zy2U42UIC0
— AmaZulu FC (@AmaZuluFootball) April 27, 2024
The Spaniard lamented his forced exclusion from his team and revealed that the club were still awaiting a response from the Premier Soccer League regarding a possible alteration to his suspension considering the nature of his dismissal against Pirates.
“Mobara is one of our best players if not the best one in terms of decision making and capacity on the ball and now he's not here because of a foul he didn’t commit last week,” he said.
He further added: “We applied asking for a different suspension because he has been suspended for three games for something he didn’t do, and after one week, we don’t have an answer from the PSL or Safa, which is the most frustrating thing. We understand that referees make mistakes, but the one that didn’t make the mistake is suffering now.”
Usuthu will hope to have Mobara back for what is expected to be a tough KZN clash against Richards Bay tomorrow.