SuperSport United got their first point of the season but they continued to shoot blanks in their second match in a row, Saturday’s goalless draw against Royal AM.
Matsatsantsa a Pitori hosted Thwihli Thwahla at the Tshwane University of Technology Stadium needing to kick-start their campaign following their opening-round loss against neighbours Mamelodi Sundowns.
Coach Gavin Hunt watched from the stands, serving the final match of his suspension for his red card in the MTN8 semi-final against Orlando Pirates last month.
His desperation for his side to get the ball rolling and create decent passages of play and goalscoring opportunities could be felt from a distance, as his frustration grew by the minute.
Stand-in coach Andre Arendse has said that the pitch conditions played a huge role in their result, but they were also hit with the harsh reality of a problem they have with scoring goals in the early part of the season.
The 57-year-old former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper also said that the over-reliance on striker Bradley Grobler is not healthy, and he needs to have a solid back-up that can at least try to match the experienced striker’s efforts.
“I do feel goalscoring is a bit of a problem for us with just two games in the season,” Arendse told SuperSport TV at the conclusion of the match.
“It was a bit of bumpy pitch for both teams, obviously. It was very difficult to play football, but I felt that when we did get the ball and we had the ball for certain periods of the game, we were good in possession and the movement was better.
“One or two half-chances that come your way, you have to take them. Terrence (Dzvukamanja) had a good chance in the first half and it bobbled away from him in front of an empty net, and those are the things you have to be better at.
“We have to bridge that gap. We can’t just have Bradley score 14 goals in the season and the next-best is two or three goals in a season – the others have to step up.
“Fair play to them ... I thought we created chances. We just have to work on consistently finishing those chances.”
Despite the dropped points, Arendse took positives from his side not conceding a goal ahead of Wednesday’s clash against TS Galaxy at TUT Stadium (7.30pm start).
He also confirmed that they are still looking to bolster their attack, with former Kaizer Chiefs striker Samir Nurkovic heavily linked with a move to Matsatsantsa.
“There is no update yet (on Samir). We have been trying, but once we have something that is more concrete, it will be announced. But for now we will focus on the team we have.
“A clean sheet is always important. We needed that today at the very least and we got that, and that is a lot to build on.
“A lot of our work in leading up to our next two games will be on finishing and getting players into good positions and attacking areas, and hitting the back of the net.
“We will place a lot of emphasis on that as the week goes on.”