Carling Knockout Cup-winning coach Clinton Larsen has explained why he couldn’t celebrate Magesi FC’s late match-winning goal against Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday evening.
The goal delivered a shock defeat to Sundowns and secured a historic victory for Magesi, who were crowned champions after coming from behind at Toyota Stadium in Mangaung.
Tshepo Kakora and Delano Abrahams scored for the Limpopo side, while Iqraam Rayners scored for the ‘Brazilians’. The winner for Magesi came three minutes before the final whistle. Interestingly, Larsen sat down while his bench and players were in jubilation.
“When it comes to celebrating, I am 52-year-old now, so I don’t know if I have the energy to celebrate goals anymore,” he said jokingly.
WHY THERE WAS A MUTED CELEBRATION FROM CLINTON LARSEN DURING CARLING KNOCKOUT FINAL
“I will probably pull my hamstring if I celebrate as Steve Komphela ran to the corner flag. So I think for me, against Orlando Pirates, we learnt a lesson. Don’t celebrate too early; they almost came back and equalised right at the end.
“We also learned that lesson against Kaizer Chiefs, celebrating, making mistakes, conceding 2-2. I will try to work on my celebrations in the future. But for now, I am just focused on the players, you know. I will try and keep doing as best as I can with the little knowledge I have. Hopefully, these players can improve.”
MAGESI FC CLINCH HISTORIC CARLING KNOCKOUT TROPHY IN MANGAUNG
The Carling Knockout was Larsen’s third trophy since becoming a head coach. He won the Telkom Knockout against Sundowns while at Celtic in 2012. In addition, he won the Motsepe Foundation Championship title as Magesi gained promotion to the SA elite last season.
“This was a fairytale story, this little team from Moletjie. People were talking about a 4, 6 or 6-0 win today [for Sundowns]. But I was confident that our team could be more competitive than that.
“It was also special to come back to my second home. I had two spells here at Celtic and they have some of the best supporters in the land. It’s always a pleasure to play infront of them. It’s an honour.”
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