Usuthu advanced to the quarterfinals of the Carling Knockout Cup courtesy of a second half penalty converted by Hendrick Ekstein despite the home side enjoying most of the ball possession during the match.
The slender lead provided a nervous ending for the KwaZulu-Natal outfit who had to hold on for seven minutes of additional time, with goalkeeper Olwethu Mzimela producing a big save from a Lesedi Kapinga strike.
“Look we were playing against a good team and once you give them time and space on the ball, they’ll torment you,” said Zwane to SuperSport TV after the match.
“Knowing the coach how he does things, how he operates how he does things, I knew that we will have a long day.
“Also, the heat was also not giving us a chance and I think in 60 minutes we were already gone [tired], but if they is one thing that we did right was waiting for those moments and we had those moments where if we were clinical, we could have easily scored four goals.”
READ: Ekstein Penalty Sends AmaZulu Into Carling Knockout Quarter-Finals
AmaZulu’s best chance of the first half fell to Athini Maqokola who directed his finish from close range over the crossbar after a pinpoint cross from Thandolwenkosi Ngwenya.
“From the first half we had chances to kill this game off and wait for the right moment again, because coming here was never going to be easy for us,” added Zwane.
“So, it’s back to the drawing board, obviously possession, we are not too happy with that, we know we could’ve done better but I think the heat affected them.”