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06 February 2020
TS Galaxy coach Dan Malesela was left bitterly disappointed by his side's exit in the first round of the Nedbank Cup as they slipped to a 3-0 loss to Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Wednesday. Second-tier Galaxy had rocketed to the title in fine style last season, defeating Kaizer Chiefs in the decider in Durban, but become the third holders in a row, after SuperSport United (2018) and Free State Stars (2019) to go out at the first hurdle in the defence of their title.
"The biggest disappointment is that we went out in the first round of the cup we are supposed to defend. I did not anticipate that," Malesela said. "I know we have challenges, but I thought the pride would be bigger than the challenges we are going through. But it was not to be."
Galaxy held Chippa scoreless in the first half, but as the pitch got slicker in the rain, errors in their play opened the door for the home side. "Mistakes came up, lots of them,” the coach said. "We made errors that were very costly and at the wrong time. They came in the second half, where you are giving yourself little time to recover.
"This happens when you keep changing your defence because we have not been consistent because of one thing or another - injuries, or somebody is going out. We have had players who have had family problems and were released to go deal with this. "We trained with a different back-four this week, but we have been struggling at the back. Particularly the right-back position, because our usual right-back [Tumelo Bodibe] has an injury that will take eight to 10 weeks to heal. "But well done to Chippa, they took their chances and scored. I wish them all the best.”
Malesela says the fact that he has lost to a club where he has twice been head coach before does not make the defeat any worse. "For me, if it was any other club I would feel the same I do now. The fact I was coaching here does not matter to me. I am moving on with my life, I have won a Nedbank Cup!" Malesela also hinted at a refreshing of the team in the second half of the season as he may give more of an opportunity to younger players. "We have got a lot of young players we are trying to bring up in the club and I now have time to focus on their individual needs. We will see who can come in."
*The views represented are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent those of Nedbank.