Marumo Gallants defeated Elgeco Plus from Madagascar 1-0 on Saturday to secure their spot in the group stage of the Caf Confederation Cup.
In their first game in Africa, Bahlabane Ba Ntwa easily defeated their opponents over two legs, winning the match 4-1 overall.
Raymond Mdaka, the interim coach for Marumo Gallants in Caf tournaments, criticized his players for letting up in the second leg at home after his team advanced to the Confederation Cup group stage.
Mdaka said, “The performance tonight was not that terrific. We should have won 1-0 away and 3-1 at home.”
We knew they couldn’t trouble us offensively, yes, but we wanted to score more goals to have a nice game, therefore today wasn’t a terrific game for us.
The Limpopo-based club has been among the Premiership’s lowest scorers this season, scoring only six goals in their first nine games, third-lowest in the division.
Mdaka criticized his squad for lacking professionalism and innovation in their victory against Elgeco.
The players’ belief that they couldn’t hurt us caused the guys to become absolutely comfortable, he said. However, he added, “scoring has to become a habit for us and we need to consistently work on it.”
Under the direction of Dan “Dance” Malesela, Marumo Gallants have appeared to be a different team, winning three straight games across all competitions while continuing to play the same brand of football that allowed them to rise from the bottom of the standings and narrowly miss a top-eight finish the previous year.
The seasoned coach, who had previously worked briefly at Royal AM, promptly returned to Marumo Gallants last month.
His unique attitude and playing style have enabled him to turn around the fortunes of clubs in the past, and after doing so with TS Galaxy in the past, he will now try to do the same with Marumo Gallants by having a successful run in Africa.
Marumo Gallants will now focus on their domestic obligations as Mamelodi Sundowns will provide them with a difficult task in their next game.
Although Marumo Gallants are just four points behind Golden Arrows in seventh place on the log, they are presently ranked 15th, making a push for a top-eight finish a realistic goal.