Just days after he was hailed by club bosses as the best coach AmaZulu FC has ever had, Romain Folz looked out of sorts as his side struggled to a 1-1 draw with relegation candidates Marumo Gallants.
ALSO READ: Zwane wants new Chiefs striker Basomboli to ‘beat the field’
Usuthu could not replicate the performance that saw them easily shut out Kaizer Chiefs 4-0 in their previous game and they settled for one point against Bahlabane Ba Ntwa.
Folz has been hailed by club president Sandile Zungu as the best coach he has worked with since taking over ownership of the Durban side.
Zungu said this in a radio interview with SAfm Happy Messiah last week, claiming Folz is better than Benni McCarthy.
A win will lift AmaZulu to fifth in the standings with 24 points. But now they remain in eighth place with 22 after 17 games.
“We were very poor, very slow and heavy in the first 20 to 25 minutes of the game,” Folz said after the game.
“It’s only fair that the opponent scores first. If you look at the game for example, the time we have to step on people so they can’t cross.
“But we never did that. So he had four to five seconds to make a choice and send a cross.
“When you go into a game like that, you can’t expect much. Our reaction after the goal was good.
– A missed opportunity –
He said his team had woken up from their slumber after conceding and were lucky to survive despite getting punished later.
“We were able to push the block 15 yards higher to create more pressure.
“This is how we can get back into the game. And after that, going into the second half I don’t need to mention the penalty, it was a mistake on our part.
“We lost the ball twice, that’s not what we did, we just gave away a penalty.
“But fortunately we didn’t concede. And other than in both halves we didn’t miss so many opportunities in front of the goal.
“There were three or four that I had to look back at and see exactly what was happening in front of the net.
“So, I think it’s a game we can win if we can get rid of the little mistakes we made.
“But in the end they made a mistake like that, it’s a fair result. We’re not happy about it.
“But if we can correct those things, we can win the game.”
Usuthu’s next task is a tough league match against provincial rivals Richards Bay on Sunday afternoon.