AmaZulu co-coach Arthur Zwane has expressed his concern over the team’s tendency to concede “cheap goals,” stating that this trend must be addressed.

AmaZulu suffered a 4-2 defeat to Sekhukhune United in a Betway Premiership match at Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Wednesday, despite initially taking the lead.

Nigerian international striker Etiosa Ighodaro put AmaZulu ahead, but Sekhukhune United quickly responded, with Andy Boyeli and Keletso Makgalwa scoring to turn the game around. AmaZulu’s new striker, Elmo Kambindu, equalized with 12 minutes remaining. However, Sekhukhune captain Linda Mntambo scored two late goals, securing victory for the home side and strengthening their fourth-place position in the league table.

AmaZulu, currently clinging to a top-eight spot, now have the second-worst defensive record in the league, having conceded 26 goals in 18 matches, with Marumo Gallants conceding 30.

“It is a worrying factor,” Zwane admitted.

“For the fact that, as a defender, you know already we have been conceding silly goals and we still come here and concede goals like this, it is one thing we need to work on, actually we are working on it. 

“I’m one person that usually protect players, but we can’t carry on like, we can’t concede goals like this and expect to be a better team. We take the responsibilities as coaches, but the players have to come to the party.”   

Zwane believes AmaZulu should have won the match, but they faltered after taking the lead, resulting in their second consecutive loss, following their defeat to Marumo Gallants in the Nedbank Cup round of 16.

“We let ourselves down,” Zwane acknowledged. “We scored first, even though we started slowly, and then we gained control of the game. However, we then conceded two goals and found ourselves chasing the game. We could have managed the game better.

“All the goals we conceded were similar; we lost possession in midfield, and they exploited the space out wide. We had warned the players not to play through the middle, as that’s where Sekhukhune were waiting to capitalize. We should have played the ball out wide quickly. We, the technical team and the players, must take responsibility. We let ourselves down and could have done better.”

AmaZulu will seek to return to winning ways when they host Magesi at King Zwelithini Stadium on Saturday at 17:30.