By Chioniso Mashakada
FC Platinum head coach Pieter de Jongh says they now shift focus to the next CAF Champions League in August after another poor show in the ongoing campaign.
Platinum lost 1-0 to visiting Al-Hilal of Sudan on Saturday – their second defeat at home after a 3-0 defeat to Etoile du Sahel in November last year.
This means they did not improve from their last campaign, unless they win their last game against Tunisia’s du Sahel away this Saturday.
Last season, Pure Platinum Play managed two draws against Orlando Pirates and lost all the home and away fixtures to Horoya and Esperance.
They have only managed a 1-1 draw against Al Ahly in the ongoing campaign which they managed to score once.
“What we saw is the reality of international football, it’s all about making differences,” said de Jongh.
“Our opponents were in a position to qualify and we are shifting focus to our next champions League in August but we will try to come up with a positive result when we go to Tunisia. We wanted two wins to qualify to the next round excluding the remaining one,” he added.
The Dutch tactician, however, feels his side displayed good football.
“We played nice football especially in the first half and we got a big chance to score after being awarded a penalty and we missed.
“And that was our toughest moment in the game. After missing a penalty, we regrouped and played well, created more chances and we were playing in our opponents’ half but we later conceded,” said de Jongh.
The former Highlanders coach, who was on the bench for the first time, said Hilal capitalised on their defensive blunder.
“What matters the most in the international football is the results, we should have deliver since we had a fair game but we conceded after making a mistake in the box. We got punished for a defensive mistake,” he said. H-Metro
