Casric Stars coach Bucs Mthombeni has explained why he’s ‘very happy’ despite being eliminated from the Nedbank Cup semi-final by Durban City FC on Saturday at Chatsworth Stadium.
Mthombeni’s troops suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat against Durban City after conceding an own goal in the first half through Sphamandla Mlilo, who struck the ball against his own goalkeeper.
As a result, the Mpumalanga-based side saw their fairytale run in the Nedbank Cup come to an end after defeating Betway Premiership giants such as Orlando Pirates and AmaZulu FC on their road to the semi-final. Casric produced impressive performances in the last domestic cup of the 2025/26 PSL season with their enterprising brand of football under Mthombeni.
After being knocked out of the Nedbank, Casric will have little time to lick their wounds as they have a crucial match against Motsepe Foundation Championship log leaders Milford FC on Wednesday.
Casric will have a chance to leapfrog Miford and move to the top of the league table if other results go in their favour. They are currently sitting fourth on the log standings with 38 points, while Milford are top of the log with 40 points.
WHAT BUCS MTHOMBENI SAID ABOUT CASRIC’S NEDBANK CUP ELIMINATION
With Casric Stars eyeing a strong finish to the campaign in their pursuit of automatic promotion to the Betway Premiership, Mthombeni has lauded the way his charges imposed themselves against Durban City.
Despite their Nedbank Cup exit, Mthombeni believes the performance will serve as a massive confidence booster for the remainder of the season. While the Motsepe Foundation Championship outfit created ample opportunities to upset the top-flight side, they were ultimately undone by a lack of killer instinct in the final third.
“You know, own goals happen in football, people even miss empty nets. We nearly scored the second own goal, but this game, compared to other games we played against Betway Premiership teams, we were better in terms of control,” Mthombeni said on SABC 1.
“I’ll take positives from this, we created about seven to eight chances, and if I remember, Durban City only got half a shot at goal, and after that they never gave us any trouble. So I think we outclassed them, it’s just that we scored an own goal.
“We created too many chances, we entered the box, but we were not accurate enough to hit the back of the net. My boys played well. I’m very happy for them. I know they are upset with themselves. But we are playing on Wednesday, and we must take positives from here; no one must drop their heads.”
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