Royal AM coach, John Maduka, was left disappointed after his side suffered a 5-1 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns.
This was also Maduka’s first defeat since re-joining the club in February.
“It was a very disappointing performance from our side because if you look at the game we started well,” Maduka said after the game.
“In the first 20 minutes we hit the post, we looked OK and the confidence was there and we used the ball very well. But after missing those chances, we started opening up and gave Sundowns a lot time on the ball.
“With the quality that they have, you give them time and space on the ball they will hurt you. We started dropping deep and when you do that against Sundowns they will open you up because they have a lot of good movements in the final third of the field.
“We conceded the first goal and we thought we were going to come back and we made another mistake [own goal]. Teams like Sundowns if you make mistakes, they will punish you. They were strong in defence and we could not deal with them because they come with combination play. It was a very disappointing performance but there are few positives to take.”
The defeat leaves the KZN side on position seven with seven matches remaining. But with nine points separating his side and the bottom of the table Marumo Gallants, Maduka is aware that a few defeats will leave his side at the bottom half of the table.
“Teams are close on the log table, if you lose games you will drop to the bottom half of the table and if you win you will move up.
“We just need to focus on the remaining seven games and make sure we win them because we can’t rely on other teams to win games for us, we have to win our own games. But after this defeat we will come back stronger. We would love to finish in a good position.”
By Zola Doda