Arendse proud despite SuperSport United’s Cup exit, urges strikers to be more clinical

ANDRE ARENDSE has always been a "glass half full" kind of guy. And even now, as a coach, the former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper continues to look on the bright side of things.

After SuperSport United were knocked out of the Nedbank Cup at the quarter-final stage following a 5-4 penalty shoot-out defeat to Orlando Pirates at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Saturday, an uninformed observer might have mistaken Arendse for the winning coach. Such was his enthusiasm during the post-match media conference, in contrast to the sulky demeanor of Buccaneers coach Jose Riveiro.

“They gave me so much to be proud of today, and that’s all we can ask from the players,” said Arendse, who was in charge of the match in place of the suspended head coach Gavin Hunt.

Speaking deep in the bowels of the stadium, he added: “There were moments when we gave the ball away too cheaply, but they gathered themselves and defended well when they needed to.”

He felt that SuperSport handled their highly regarded opponents very well and could have even stolen the game had they been more clinical.

“Against a ball-possession team like this, they will hurt you if you don’t press them, and I think we got that 100% right today. We had chances – two or three or even four. (Gamphani) Lungu missed one at the beginning, (Christian) Saile was through on goal but couldn’t pass the ball to Bradley (Grobler), who was in a great scoring position. But these are the positives we will take into the next game.”

Lungu and Gape Moralo scored for SuperSport, who came from behind twice to force the game into extra time. However, with no winner emerging, the match had to be settled by a penalty shoot-out. Former Pirates man Vincent Pule and Saile had their kicks saved by Sipho Chaine, while Ricardo Goss denied Phillip Ndlondlo.

Arendse waxed lyrical about Moralo’s last-minute equalizer: “A brilliantly worked goal.

"Gape Moralo had the presence of mind to see the gap, take players on, and know exactly where he was going and what he wanted to do in the end. And what he did well after all that hard work was hit the target — when you do that, you always have a chance.

"That proved to be the equalizer for us. We got better and better and finished stronger.”

He was also pleased with the performances of the club’s youngsters.

“There were many positives. Ime Okon, Siya Ndebele, and Oratile came on, and Neo Rapoo also got minutes. What all these youngsters — who are just 19 and 20 — proved today is that they are not only able to play on the big stage but that they can compete at this level with the big guns.”

He also encouraged Saile not to be disheartened by his missed penalty: “Head up, boy. Head up. That’s my message to Christian.

"Nobody likes to miss a penalty, but it was saved — he didn’t miss it, and it’s important to understand that. We will lift him up.”

While he had “so much to be proud of,” Arendse acknowledged that the match highlighted areas for improvement moving forward.

“We’ve got to be more clinical; we must put the ball in the net when we get the chances. Lungu’s opportunity in the opening minute — we’ve got to take care of those.”