Johannesburg – SuperSport United coach Gordon Igesund intends to remain level-headed after the fairytale start handed to him in the 3-1 Premiership victory over Platinum Stars at the Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday.
“Overall I think we deserved to win the game, but we are not going to think we have arrived,” Igesund said.
“We came back into the game after the guys showed great character and spirit. I would have liked for the players to keep the ball a lot more.”
The former Bafana Bafana coach had only a week-and-a-half to prepare the team after taking over the reins from Cavin Johnson, who was fired.
It was United’s second victory of the season, with the club having lost the remaining four fixtures in the Premiership.
Igesund has hit the ground running at Matsatsantsa and has vowed to work tirelessly in the coming weeks to carve the team into shape.
“There are certain areas in defence where the gap between the lines in midfield was far too big. One can only work on so much in a week.
“What I really worked on was our attacking. I felt we were a little bit too defensive and always trying to play counter-attack.”
After conceding the opening goal, United came back to snatch a convincing victory after a dominant second half performance courtesy of a brace from Bradley Grobler.
Stars defender Gift Sithole gave his side the lead in the 17th minute with a header from a Patrick Malokase free-kick.
However, Sithole cancelled his goal when he flicked the ball into his own net, past his hapless goalkeeper Siyabonga Mpontshane in the 38th minute to make even at halftime.
The four-time Premiership title winning coach felt they thoroughly deserved the victory and praised his team’s resilience against Dikwena.
“We went out there and played with a lot of energy. Unfortunately we conceded a goal which I felt we could have dealt with it a bit better.
“But sometimes in our position you have to go there and get the result. They gave us a good game. They pushed forward in the right areas.”
United have a two-week gap until their next match when they host Bloemfontein Celtic on September 27 – precious time for Igesund to further instil his philosophy into the squad.
“I am happy we have two weeks now. I think everybody has seen now how the players have responded during the match.
“We will get better as we go along. And try to pick up as many points as possible.”
Stars coach Allan Freese said it was difficult to prepare for United as they were uncertain what playing style and formation would be undertaken by the new coach.
“We had to guess how they would play under a new coach. I don’t think we defended well enough to win the game. SuperSport put us under pressure,” Freese said.
It would be a challenge for the dismembered Dikwena, who last season clinched the MTN8 and Telkom Knockout, to repeat their cup double exploits, he said.
“The only difference is that we have new players coming in. It’s taking time for us to get together as a unit but we are working on that constantly.”
The Phokeng-based team’s next assignment is at home against University of Pretoria, where they would look to better their record of three losses, two wins and a draw on September 28. – Sapa