Eric Tinkler has admitted that struggling Chippa United gave them a run for their money before Cape Town City defeated the Chilli Boys 1-0 in a DStv Premiership match at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Nigerian Abdul Ajugan scored the Citizens’ winning goal in the 89th minute.
“I think it was always going to be difficult both psychologically and mentally for the players considering how we lost the MTN8 final,” the Citizens coach said referring to their loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in Durban last Saturday.
Tinkler added that his players’ state of mind was a concern before they met the Chilli Boys as it could be seen while they were preparing for the match.
“You could see the effects of that loss at training. That was a big concern leading to this match and it was a tough game,” Tinkler remarked.
“We started fairly well. I think the first 20 minutes we looked okay. We struggled against Chippa, we didn’t really create any chances to score. They are a difficult team to play against because they play very direct and look to play on the second ball. It became a really ugly and cagey game.”
Meanwhile, under-fire Chilli Boys coach Gavin Hunt said after the game: “I thought we had some unbelievable chances. They made two chances the whole game and they scored. Obviously disappointed, we had opportunities.”
The Gqeberha-based Chilli Boys are winless in their last eight matches.
