Chippa United coach Dan Malesela and his TS Galaxy counterpart Owen da Gama are satisfied after their teams drew 1-1 in a DStv Premiership match played at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Both coaches believe that their players gave their all during the match. Andile Mbenyane scored for the Chilli Boys while Lindokuhle Mbatha replied for the Rockets.
Mbenyane netted a penalty in the 61st minute after Bathusi Aubaas had fouled Anthony Laffor inside the box.
Mbatha also scored from a spot kick following a Frederic Nsabiyumva foul on Mlungisi Mbunjana in the 69th minute.
The Chilli Boys finished the match with 10 men after Isaac Nhlapo was sent off by match referee Philangenkosi Khumalo in the 86th minute.
“A very tight match. I knew it was going to be like that immediately when we started putting our feet off the gear a little bit, allowing Galaxy to play,” Malesela said.
“They also play, they are also a quality side. It was a very, very exciting match, very entertaining, very attacking. This is what you need in football. Everybody must make an effort to see that the game is played properly to the satisfaction of everybody, who is involved.”
Da Gama whose only loss was to the Chilli Boys in the first round believes that not playing last weekend affected the Rockets’ momentum.
“Look, the lay-off of the weekend broke a little bit of the momentum. But I thought the boys played very well,” Da Gama said.
“We created some chances to score, quite a few chances. And if you don’t take those chances it just gets harder and harder. Football is about putting the ball in the back of the net. We struggled with that. But I was happy with the fighting spirit. After the penalty the boys came back very, very strong.”
Meanwhile, Bongile Booi made his Chilli Boys debut after he substituted Thamsanqa Sangweni in the 82nd minute.
