TS Galaxy coach Sead Ramovic heaped praise on his players despite their defeat in the Carling Knockout Cup final.
The Rockets went down 5-4 on penalties to TS Galaxy after their match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday ended 1-1.
Lehlohonolo Mojela had opened the scoring for Galaxy on 43 minutes before Ismael Toure equalised with 74 minutes played.
Nhlanhla Mgaga missed his first spot kick for Stellenbosch but they were back on level terms when Pogiso Sanoka was also denied.
But the title was handed to Stellies after Mojela failed to convert the final penalty.
Ramovic said in the Sowetan: “We were close to making it, but we didn’t. But my players, for me, are the champions, great guys and I would also like to congratulate the opponents of a very great club.”
The Galaxy boss added: “They have a fantastic coach, a very nice human being on and off the field. If there is someone who deserves to win the cup, it’s him. God decided to give it to the right person even though we wanted to win the cup.
“We should be proud of ourselves and now we have two more games before the end of the year. We have to forget about this and I’m sure this is not the last final. We still have the Nedbank Cup and we will start from scratch.”