Maritzburg United coach Fadlu Davids has commended his players for an impressive second-half showing which saw them kick Mamelodi Sundowns out of the Nedbank Cup.
Read: Maritzburg Send Ten-Man Downs Packing To Reach Nedbank Cup Final
The Team of Choice went a goal down after only 70 seconds of play at Harry Gwala Stadium on Sunday but instead of wallowing in despair, they bounced back with a late first-half goal and two second-half strkes to beat the Brazilians 3-1.
Speaking after the win, which set up the club's first-ever cup final appearance, against Free State Stars on May 19, Davids said he was immensely proud of his players and encouraged them to start believing in themselves.
"We shouldn't be too flattered with the score, the main thing is that we are through to the final for the first time in the Club's history," Davids told SuperSport after the game.
"I'm so proud of the players and the amount of effort that they put in, not only today but from the beginning of the season. From the first day of the pre-season.
"I hope that they can start believing how good they are. I've been telling them since the first game of the season. Start believing how good you really are.
"Tacitly they follow instructions to the tee. That is what it is about."
Davids, though, is well aware it was not an easy match against Sundowns and gave credit to Pitso Mosimane and his team for their efforts on the day.
"On the other hand you have to give Sundowns credit," added the Maritzburg coach.
"In the first half they really closed us up.
"Conceding in the first two minutes of the game was disappointing, but that is where I want to commend my players.
"You can easily drop your heads and take it in a bad way, but we acted positively and in the second half we showed them. We couldn't really unlock them, but that was through no fault of our own due to Pitso and him analysing the spaces that we want to use.
"You have to give them credit for that.
"It's the first time where a team has analysed us to the tee. They stopped the spaces that we wanted to use. We had to tweak things a little bit at half time, but we also have to be realistic. The red card (for Gaston Sirino) gave us the advantage, and we took advantage to get the goal."
