Sekhukhune United veteran striker Bradley Grobler expressed surprise at being named Man of the Match following his side’s 3–1 Carling Knockout loss to Golden Arrows on Saturday.
The 37-year-old gave Babina Noko a first-half lead with a well-taken goal just before the break, but Arrows responded with a dominant second-half performance at King Goodwill Zwelithini Stadium to overturn the deficit.
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Despite receiving the fan-voted Man of the Match award — along with a R100,000 prize — Grobler humbly stated he didn’t feel worthy of the accolade, acknowledging the team’s overall disappointment.
“I’m an honest person, I’m shocked. I don’t think I had a great game. I should have scored more goals,” Grobler admitted as quoted by FarPost.
“We have a great group of players, but we have to understand we need to be better than we were. In the first half we were very good, but in the second half we didn’t come out with the same intensity. We only have ourselves to blame, and the international break didn’t help.”
Grobler also addressed controversy over his goal, which appeared to involve his hand and says he also has to look at the game to see how he played.
“The goal, look, I have to go and look at it. I don’t know where it came off because I just dived at the ball, so I can’t tell you where it actually hit me, but it went in,” he said.
“I have to look at myself as well. I thought I was not where I should be. In the first half, I could have had three goals.”
Grobler and his Babina Noko teammates will now turn their attention back to the league, aiming to bounce back after a disappointing knockout exit and build momentum for the remainder of the season after the international break.