Sekhukhune United coach Eric Tinkler credited his defence for securing a
hard-fought point in their goalless Betway Premiership draw against Orlando
Pirates on Saturday.
Acknowledging his team’s struggles in possession, Tinkler singled out the
backline and goalkeeper for special praise after they withstood sustained
pressure at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium.
“One hundred percent, the defence won us a point. We had to suffer a lot
today,” Tinkler told SuperSport. “Defensively we were solid. [Brighton]
Leaner had a great game, [Daniel] Cardoso had a great game, I thought
Renaldo [Leaner] the goalkeeper [had] a great game.”
He expressed disappointment with his side’s offensive performance,
admitting, “Offensively, not a great game at all… We didn’t really create
clear-cut chances. Predominantly [it was] Pirates attacking us and us
defending for our lives.”
The coach highlighted a lack of composure on the ball as a key issue,
especially in the first half. “We couldn’t string three to four passes
together, and there were a lot of individual errors. A team like Pirates are
going to put you under pressure.”
With a quick turnaround to face Mamelodi Sundowns on Tuesday—their third
match in seven days—Tinkler pointed to the physical toll but found a
positive in his team’s resilience. “You can see players who only played a
couple of days back… It’s going to be about a quick recovery because we’ve
got another massive game coming up.”
He concluded, “In the second half there was improvement, there was fight,
which is what we needed, and that was a positive I can take.”
