Gavin Hunt has lamented SuperSport United’s lack of adaptation to the blustery conditions at Danie Craven Stadium following his troops’ 4-0 drubbing by Stellenbosch FC on Saturday in the Nedbank Cup.
Stellies continued their remarkable unbeaten streak, now at 21 games across all competitions, with a dominant performance in their quarter-final clash against Hunt’s men.
Anicet Oura opened the scoring in the first half, while Devin Titus, Andre de Jong, and Iqraam Rayners added their names to the scoresheet in the second stanza as Stellenbosch booked a place in the semi-finals.
The Matsatsantsa coach was not pleased with the conditions at the 16,000-capacity venue on a lovely autumn day in the Winelands as Stellenbosch sealed a place in the semi-finals.
However, he did admit Stellies were better than SuperSport but only because they managed to adapt to the difficult conditions of the pitch.
GAVIN HUNT LAMENTS LACK OF ADAPTATION AFTER DRUBBING IN THE HANDS OF STELLENBOSCH
“We never adapted to the conditions, that’s for sure. We couldn’t get hold of it [the ball] because every bubble bounce they won. So fair play to them,” he said. “We just didn’t adapt, and we went behind at the wrong times early, and after half-time, they just killed it.
“But we kept probing, but certainly, we couldn’t get any momentum, and obviously, the scoreline is what it is. But we tried to chase it and we just never adapted or never got hold of it and it was very difficult. Yeah, we struggled.
“There was some hesitancy. Is the ball going to come, or is it not going to come? If it holds up or it doesn’t hold up. We were caught between a rock and a hard place a lot of times with the ball swelling,” added Hunt.
SUPERSPORT UNITED COACH INSISTS PITCH CONDITIONS SUITED STELLENBOSCH
This isn’t the first time coach Hunt has expressed concerns about pitch conditions in South Africa this season.
He previously described the pitch at Stellies’ home ground as “horrendous” and has also voiced criticism about the playing surfaces at Cape Town Stadium, Orlando Stadium, and King Zwelithini Stadium, among other venues.
“I don’t think we adapted well to the situation; they [Stellenbosch] obviously did. But I don’t think we adapted well. We had two games now, and it was absolute rain, and you couldn’t even see. Today [Saturday], the pitch was really difficult. But we had to adapt, and we didn’t. They were better than us, and you have to take it on the chin.
“The scoreline obviously looks like we played badly, and we didn’t play well, that’s for sure. We didn’t adapt. I mean, we wouldn’t put the ball down, and you know it suited them to play because it suits them the way they play these types of situations.”
RELATED STORY: Pirates beat AmaZulu in thriller to reach Nedbank Cup semi-finals
