Chippa United coach Eric Tinkler felt like a loser despite scoring a point from the away Absa Premiership fixture against Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs at the weekend.
The Chilli Boys were on song on the day, attacking Amakhosi from all angles, but in the end failed to put the ball in the back of the net.
Lerato Manzini, who has been out for most of last season, gave Chiefs skipper Itumeleng Khune a hard time with some telling strikes on goal.
Considering the show his players put on in the goalless draw at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Tinkler said his team deserved more than just a point on the day.
However, he said he was thankful to have walked away with something – in contrast with the defeats against Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns in previous games.
“To be honest, as I sit here I feel as though I have lost,” he said at the post-match briefing.
“But obviously considering the game against Pirates and the game against Sundowns and how well we played, I felt like we deserved more than what we got.
“Well, we got slightly more than what we got in those games, we got a draw at least.
“I think we planned very well for this game. I had the opportunity to watch them [Chiefs] play during the week, so our game plan for this game was very good.
“However, in the first half, I did feel we dropped slightly deep,” Tinkler said.
“Even though we were doing that, I think we still created the best opportunities in the half and possibly deserved to come away at least 1-0 up.
“It was only really in the wide areas that every now and then they hurt us with their crosses, but I thought we dealt with that quite well.
“Set pieces were also something we worked on this week, defending the set pieces and not switching off, which we unfortunately did in the first half,” he said.
“But in the second half we rectified all of that. We created three great chances, but we did not put it in the back of the net, so that is disappointing.”
Meanwhile, Cape Town City want to prove they are not “one-hit wonders” and climb the Premier Soccer League ladder using their remaining four games before Christmas to get up among the contenders, coach Benni McCarthy said.
City won back-to-back matches for the first time this season when they beat Black Leopards 3-1 at the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday, hot on the heels of their 3-0 pasting of AmaZulu in their previous game a fortnight ago.
“We had our little slump and it was a slump against all the top teams,” McCarthy said.
“Now the teams in the middle and the lower end are all coming at once for us.
“If we want to prove that we are not just a miracle team‚ or a one-hit wonder‚ that [winning] the MTN was a fluke‚ we need to prove it against these teams‚” the coach‚ who turned 41 on Monday, said.
City are up against Polokwane City next‚ playing away on November 27, and then have Highlands Park (away‚ December 1)‚ Chippa United (home‚ December 11) and Bloemfontein Celtic at home on December 22.
“We want to push them aside‚ out of our path‚ because we should be closer to the top. I think that’s the main aim now,” McCarthy said.
“In all the remaining games up until Christmas we are looking to do the same – play good, entertaining football‚ but football with a purpose‚ football that’s got goals at the end of the game and us collecting the three points,” he said.