Mthombeni: We Needed To Defend Like Against Pirates

Bucks Mthombeni has praised Casric Stars for their discipline and resilience after eliminating AmaZulu to reach the semi-finals of the Nedbank Cup.

Casric continued their giant-killing run with a 2-1 extra-time victory at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday.

The decisive moment came in the 115th minute when Decide Chauke struck the winning goal. His shot bounced off the post before rolling into the unguarded net to send the visitors into the last four.

It was another major scalp for Stars, who had already knocked out Orlando Pirates on penalties in the Round of 16.

Mthombeni revealed that his team expected a tough encounter and were prepared to absorb pressure before striking.

“We were prepared to come here and suffer a little bit,” said Mthombeni.

“Our plan was to defend well and try to get a goal, and we managed to do that.”

The Casric coach also explained that he closely studied AmaZulu before the match to identify their strengths, particularly the attacking threat from their fullbacks.

“I was here on Wednesday to watch them against Magesi FC in the league. I wanted to make sure we dealt with them correctly, especially with their fullbacks going forward.

“We told the boys to utilise the space behind them and try to compress them, making sure we overloaded those areas so their wingbacks could not attack freely.”

Mthombeni believed his side’s patience and energy eventually made the difference as the match wore on.

“I knew that after 70 minutes they would start to tire. I told the boys they needed to apply more energy because we were well rested, and that’s when we started playing our style of football.

“But most importantly, I told them they had to defend the same way they did against Orlando Pirates.”

Casric Stars became the first team to book their place in the Nedbank Cup semi-finals, a moment that left the emotional coach and club chairman in tears at the final whistle.

For the lower-division side, the victory was another reminder of why the Nedbank Cup is famously known as the “Cup of Dreams.”