Cape Town City coach Eric Tinkler has raised concerns about unequal contributions from his players, asserting that the issue has affected the team’s performance immensely. 

The Citizens suffered a 5-4 defeat on penalties away to Richards Bay in the Carling Knockout Cup on Saturday. 

The Western Cape side came into the new season having acquired a good number of high-profile players and promising to be one of the few teams to be challenging for domestic cups and possibly giving Mamelodi Sundowns a tough time in the league. 

However, inconsistency has since loomed as similar to their recent 0-0 draw against Magesi FC in the Betway Premiership, City were knocked out of the Carling Cup through a frustrating performance, dominating possession but creating minimal goal-scoring opportunities. 

Expressing his frustration on what has been a rather inconsistent run of results so far this season, the City coach alluded to a lack of intent from his offensive profiles. 

“In the last three games, a lot of control, a lot of possession, and not so much against Sundowns but at least with Magesi and this one you knew you were going have that, and at just no effect. Not enough intent in the final third to want to score.” 

The former Orlando Pirates gaffer further identified a particular concern upfront revealing, “Not enough creativity from everyone, you know you can’t rely on a singular person to be that creative player, Hashim as an example. Others need to contribute, and I don’t think others are at the moment you know,” said Tinkler. 

The Citizens have only managed to score a single goal in their last three in all competitions, further registering only eight shots on goal in 300 minutes of football. 

The former Carling Cup winner suggests that the lack of contribution from other attacking players has helped the opposition nullify their attack by closing down the sole source of scoring opportunities in Domingo. 

“We’re becoming a bit one-dimensional – if Hashim doesn’t create then we have a problem. If the opposition closes Hashim down, they nullify us. So those are the areas we need to work on. The contribution needs to come from all attacking players and not only from one specific person,” explained the 54-year-old. 

Despite boasting one of the strongest squads in the Premier Soccer League, City is yet to assert itself as a powerhouse this season, collecting all sorts of results in equal measure. 

Having lost out in the first two of three domestic cups, the Cape side will now shift their focus to fighting for a respectable finish in the Betway Premiership while they wait for the Nedbank Cup in 2025.