Maritzburg United coach Ernst Middendorp admits his side didn’t have the energy to see off Orlando Pirates on Tuesday.
The Team of Choice suffered a 4-1 defeat in their final DStv Premiership match of the season with Thembinkosi Lorch (21′), Kwame Peprah (42′), Deon Hotto (60′) and Kabelo Dlamini (69′) all on target for Bucs with only Friday Samu (63′) netting for Maritzburg.
Middendorp’s side had secured their top-flight with a 1-0 win over Baroka on Saturday and struggled to match that performance, as Pirates continue to chase a CAF place with two games to play.
After the match, the Maritzburg boss told SuperSport: “They were all not able to do the job today in a way and here one day recovery in between which was originally planned to play on Wednesday for us would have been very crucial.
“I tried to give some other players in the second half the possibility to show up, we came a little better. Basically the biggest challenge we had today was our one against one.
“In a defensive work, heading, duels was definitely by far not good, I will not even say we need space for improvement, that was definitely the main argument why we lost in the end, 4-1 I think it’s okay even.”